L'aura del Campo

Teeth of a dog

Teeth of a dog

When I lie there dead
do not look at my rotting teeth.
Once... I was young
with a mouth full of ivory,
smiling at the world
that did not smile on me.

Do not notice the wrinkles
or the bloating flesh.
Forget the hair that falls out
like a leaf that's spent.
Look at me with dignity
like I looked at others.

Remember me petting an eager dog,
wagging its tail,
and hoping for love.
Witness how the ornery cat
came to me in time.
Patience my friend, love and patience win.

Reminisce how I stopped to watch the butterfly
escaping the myna bird's beak.
Or how each orchid shared its glory for a week
even when no one but me stopped by.

When I lie there dead,
cover my ugliness if you must,
until my body returns to dust;
know that my soul has fled.

Kare Enga [180.xxx] (30.desember.2023)

30 lines

Edited and posted as "Teeth of a dog"  for "Share Your Faith" 

Note: This is based on what 'Abdu'l Baha wrote in a letter in 1913. It is quite familiar to Baha'is as a caution to look at the good qualities in others.

"...you enquire about the source of a story concerning Christ that was told by 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Your message was subsequently referred to the Research Department, which has indicated that the narrative which describes Christ's "sin-covering gaze" when He encountered "the dead body of a dog", is published in "Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá".

Although the story is not part of Christian tradition, nor does it appear in the Qur'án, the Research Department advises that its source can be traced to Islamic traditions as it occurs frequently in Muslim literature."

https://bahaiforums.com/t/teeth-of-the-dog.2458/

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