“……we’uns never have enough room!”
Squeezed together with pinchey toes
An’ scrapin’ bellies
An’ knockin’ noggins in blows
All down in the’ boggins shrillies.
Squished ‘n squashed an’ pressin’ blows
On long-ago nervsies.
Topsy-turvsies all-a-boggle
No whit of glee did find a thrill to toggle
Where friends were smashin, clashin’
All twistin’ an’ bustin’ w’elbow so thrashin’
Were friends seekin’ safety from snortin’ beasties
So hungry for the husks o’ their berries in feasties.
“Turn ye selves rightside up, ye goonies in den!”
Old Crow then did flap so scratched a croak
From one-toed perch on ledge just then,
“Does not ye see new ray of light in stroke,
“Pointing to door, secret door, to Higher Room of kin?”
granbee 
May 26, 2012 @ 02:19:11
And there are many rooms…
May 26, 2012 @ 02:20:35
Yes, Terri, in our Father’s house are many rooms!
May 26, 2012 @ 02:24:22
Rose! This reminds me somewhat of Oscar Wilde: we are all in the gutter, just some of us are looking at the stars. We look up, we see hope! Hope to see your words of hope again real soon!
May 26, 2012 @ 02:27:47
Wow, Peter! How very flattering to be comparied to Oscar Wilde! How true it is that we all just thrash around in gutters so very much of the time. We need a dragon-like guardian of yore, like Old Crow, to prod us into looking at that wonderful open door to higher places with plenty of room for all! Hope is what keeps me writing, dear Peter!
May 26, 2012 @ 03:11:45
Dear Rose, I grew up in a home with hardly enough room to run without getting married (a southern saying)…and while many might have thought us poor, it was the closeness that kept us close – sharing an 8X8 foot room with a brother and two sisters and taking turns being the first to use the bathwater. As my nieces quote me often now, ‘don’t let anything get in the way of loving one another’. As for the trees and the grass, if it grows, let it. And if shows up on your porch in the middle of the night, love it…….love it up!! Thank you for this touching reminder as only you can give it……… Love it up, darlin…….love it up! ~ Bobbie
May 26, 2012 @ 03:14:20
Yes, Bobbie, we should “love it up” instead of complaining and poking and prodding each other. As we “love it up”, we raised each other up enough see that open door to a higher place, a more spacious place full of more light!
May 26, 2012 @ 04:57:49
Timbly tumbly out of bed, bumpy bumpy goes my head!! Shuffly shuffly shoving push never ‘nough room in this old bed! But full of love enough to make up for lack of space. Up to the door , the secret door will we please see the Blessed Face? XXXX
May 26, 2012 @ 05:02:54
Thank goodness, that Blessed Face is smiling in love on all our tumbling and bumbling!
May 26, 2012 @ 05:07:22
it helps to know that isn’t it ??
May 26, 2012 @ 05:12:54
Willowdot, for me on most days, this knowledge of that Divine Smiling Face shining on all my nonsense is an actual life-saver!
May 26, 2012 @ 05:43:13
Yes it just keep us all wading through the sludge!
May 30, 2012 @ 04:15:24
Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Reaching the cleaner, higher places often means wading through some yucky stuff–but it will wash right off if the wader keeps his eye on the prize and climbs out at the right spot!
May 26, 2012 @ 06:39:44
Lovely message, Rose…if we just look up, we’ll see the light and He’ll guide us in for new rays of hope and love~and isn’t there always enough room? It’s in the perspective, I believe~
May 30, 2012 @ 04:16:05
EXACTLY, Lauren–it is in the perspective and in the focus!
May 26, 2012 @ 06:48:01
Enthralled there is plenty of room — filled with Divine Love and Light for all who wish to partake of these Divine Gifts and Blessings … 🙂 YIPPEE!!
May 30, 2012 @ 04:16:52
Way more than enough room, Becca! We just have to focus and keep putting one foot in front of the other–and open wide the windows of our souls’ eyes!
May 26, 2012 @ 08:24:11
Great! Waiting to see where this goes…
May 30, 2012 @ 04:17:44
Brother Greg, stay with us–for we need to pull together even more during the next few segments of this journey–we will need to forgive each other and ourselves!
May 26, 2012 @ 09:25:14
I just love how you managed make this piece come alive. The words roll off my tongue like a song. Lovely message as well.
May 30, 2012 @ 04:18:41
Miss Demure, so fabulous to have you back amongst us! Thank you so much for your encouragement of my language and the rhythm here! Glad to have your support of the message, most of all!
May 26, 2012 @ 12:34:54
What a beauty Rose,Oh I agree with you and Lauren,there is always more room…..
and the “ligh”t guides us well to those,if we look at it and read it well 🙂
May 30, 2012 @ 04:19:28
Yes, Soma, we must focus on that light and STAY focused–and help each other into that Higher Room, big enough for all.
May 26, 2012 @ 14:24:37
Lovely, Rose. Love the last two lines! Indeed, there are always new rooms to find – when we are ready to move into another, there is always an invitation to help us find it. 🙂
May 30, 2012 @ 04:20:39
The secret is “being ready”, isn’t it–being ready to open our souls’ eyes and truly LOOK–and then move forward. Thanks so much for your support, Angela!
May 27, 2012 @ 02:41:14
Rose, I’ve been thinking about this long critter poem of yours. For some reason what occurred to me is that in a way this is like Spenser’s work in the Faerie Queen with one difference. In the Faerie Queen Spenser went back through the history of the English language at that point, and he dug an earlier, antique version out of the mists and created a contemporary language out of it. There was a storm of comment about his daring use of the older English, but he made it so fresh and powerful with his storytelling (and metaphorical comments about the horrendous politics then wracking Ireland) that he became one of the great poets of the English literary canon.
What you are doing in this long poem, with its humpings and bumpings and language tumbling down a cliff, is creating a new language. This goes along and goes along, always touching stone with Biblical passages (as John Bunyan did), creating a long allegorical commentary on the Christian faith.
I enjoy reading each passage as it comes along, but I really wonder how it would seem if the whole mountain rumbling mass of it were printed in a book, and I sat down to read it from beginning to end. One of the struggles I have been having internally is over the nature of the wordpress format. Does it cause us to write differently than we would otherwise write if we were not publishing in a format that emphasizes short, rather than long, passages? Is that a good or bad thing? I’m not sure.
Anyway, reading these passages has led to some thought about the nature of what you are doing and the significance it is achieving. I thought you deserved to know that. Creating allegory and the comments made inside the allegory may be joyful work, and I suspect this is joyful to you, but it is also hard work as you dance and sing through the landscape of critterly.
May 30, 2012 @ 04:25:24
Thomas, first of all: thank you for such a thoughtful and helpful commentary. Secondly, I need to let you know that these posts are simply sample segments of the full work I have in progress! Transitional sections and much more dialogue and descriptive sections of the terrain and the surrounding cultures are being developed. For me, wordpress format is very useful in giving the readership samples and getting feedback. With copious illustrations (color drawings), this series of books will be a frolic to dance through, Thomas! Also, the messages (very, very serious messages) go down much better with huge spoonsful of sugar (in this case, critterly antics), you know!
May 27, 2012 @ 23:03:32
Granbee, as always I have loved my journey along the road with you my friend. And there is lots and lots of room.. No need to push or Squeeze and be squished!.. And when we get to that place.. of Many Rooms.. the Doors will be open to all..
I hope you have had a Joyfull weekend Grandbee,, I took a short break from WP to spend time with family and garden.. This afternoon the sun still bright as I sit beneath the shade with Lap top on my Knee enjoying the best of both worlds before back to work tomorrow.. Love to you my lovely Friend.. ~Sue xx
May 30, 2012 @ 04:27:27
Sue, I, too, have had a lovely 3 day weekend, as it was Memorial Day in the U.S. I am so pleased to see you writing comments outdoors! Love your sisterhood on this journey. Yes, we human critters often make the mistake of grumbling and stumbling all over each other for “limited space”, when there is actually an entire universe out there for us!
May 28, 2012 @ 12:40:29
Great follow up, Rose.. I just love the way you write… the words you use…
Ciao, Francina
May 30, 2012 @ 04:28:12
Thanks so very much, Francina! So pleased you could see the critterly sense in this way of proceeding to “higher ground”!
Jun 03, 2012 @ 06:10:39
‘“Does not ye see new ray of light in stroke,
“Pointing to door, secret door, to Higher Room of kin?”
I do, I do, now…even if not always! Shame on me for not always’. I was enthralled by Thomas Davis’s comment–and your reply. So looking forward to the complete unabridged and illustrated version of this series, Rose! Blessing for your work to continue well!
Jun 05, 2012 @ 05:03:55
OH, Diane, your support is invaluable here in boosting me on to finish this race I am on to complete the first book in this series. I will be working very hard with my illustrator in July and August!