TO LOVE A SQUIRREL

Little Bucky Squirrel... how do I love thee?

Let me count the ways!

I love thee in the sweet, snug fingerhold you have

as you grasp my hand;

I love thee in your warm, pink tongue

as you lick my hand;

I love thee in your awesome gaze, as you look at me

with those large black all knowing, unconditionally loving eyes;

I love thee in the way you attempt to bury a nut

in my collar at the back of my neck;

I love thee in the nuts you have hidden

in the folds of the couch;

I love thee in the way we squirrel wrestle together

in the mornings;

I love thee in the way you wait, perched upright on the porch of your cage,

ready to jump on me whenever I get close enough to you;

I love thee in the ever-present exuberance you demonstrate

whenever I walk in the room;

I love thee in your sweet innocence

and constant presence in the "now";

Little Bucky, teach me to be like you,

for only then can I truly enter the new paradigm of

Heaven on Earth!