Work in Progress – Sept. 8, 2022

A Dog’s Prayer
By Margaret Franz
Glenwood Springs

Every day, my beautiful border collie Jack and I slowly walk up Red Mountain for our morning meditation. He smells the bushes and walks, stride for stride with me, as I recite the beautiful poem from Tich Nhat Hanh’s “Peace Is Every Step.”

He knows the drill. He jumps up on the bench and gazes toward Sopris. I gently stroke his forehead between his ears and quietly recite “the prayer.”

Lord, we pray for biscuits, belly rubs, the beautiful, the brave, Brown Betty Boop (the cat), the birds, the bees, the butterflies, the bears and the fruit flies, amen. Whoa…did we say fruit flies?

Stay tuned for another story for another time from “More Stories from Margaret.”

Faces 
A.P. Harrison
“Diary of a Divorce”

Who am I? 
Who was I when you met me, 
When you judged me? 
What face did you encounter? 

Today, 
I’ve been an author and an avid reader; 
An athlete and a couch potato; 
A woman of means and a woman cleaning the bathroom on her knees. 
I’ve felt youthful and confident one moment, then old and fragile the next. 

Step back and look. 
This month, 
I’ve been strong and prideful but, also weak and unsure; 
The new kid on the playground and someone’s oldest and dearest friend; 
An enthusiastic student and, then, an opinionated stuffed-shirt; 
Rambunctious and silly, only to become short-tempered and mean. 
I’ve been in love, been a lover and had my heart broken. 

Was it during the last year, 
When I’ve been both 
Villain and defender 
Savior and sinner 
Dreamer and cynic 
Egotist and wimp 
On one hand valued and then, on another, dismissed.

Tell me, who am I?
Now that you’ve passed judgment on me. 
Which of my masks did you encounter and freeze in time? 
And what face were you wearing in that fleeting moment? 

Local artist Wewer Keohane’s “Breakfast in Japan #16” (pictured) was selected for exhibition in the Museo Diocesan San Matteo in Rome, Italy. The Arte Borgo Gallery curated the exhibition, which runs through Sept. 17. “I am really honored to have my work included in this ancient Museum,” Keohane wrote to The Sopris Sun. Courtesy image