After 20-plus years of living in the city
With its busy streets
streets and polluted air,
I had moved once more into the country
With its fresh air and wildlife.
I chose to live on the fourth floor
Accessible by stairs or elevator
When it was running.
The quiet was delightful.
One evening on my way to chapel
I stopped to wash my hands.
On the cool bathroom floor
Lay a black snake, soon to be evicted.
Some months, maybe years later,
On a full moon night, bright with stars,
A bird, soon frightened, entered with
S. Anne from the fourth-floor porch.
Then there was the afternoon
When a bat escaped from the attic
And was peacefully hanging from the
Drop ceiling outside my door.
Not too long ago, a critter made its
Way into the fifth-floor attic. One
Or more partied nightly over our heads
While we lived in quarantine.
Then came the morning when Justin
Found a squirrel had chewed its way
Down to fourth-floor, caught in
In the hallway outside my door.
Thank you, God, for a Building and Grounds crew
That comes to our assistance
Beyond the call of maintenance.
Amen. And again thank you.