Beauty and the Beast – the song of my four-legged friend

for too long
I’ve watched
my Beauty crawling over the words
soaring above the sky
dancing between the silent spaces

for too long
I’ve waited for
my Beauty getting up from her desk
walking to the pantry
picking up my favourite bone
          for a good afternoon chew

for too long
I’ve been locked with
my Beauty in this house
down in the garden
observing rosellas fleeting and resting on gum branches
gazing on shooting stars of the galaxy
and the yellow Moon in the night sky

for too long
I’ve dreamed of the day with
my Beauty climbing mountains
smelling fragrances of millions of flowers
chasing every hint of animals
tasting salt of every lake
and leaving my historic marks on every passing pole

Still
nothing is too long
as long as I am with my Beauty

although
sometimes I think
I am the Beauty
when she accompanies me on my royal parade
and I draw the attention and admiration of all
when she is busy cooking in the kitchen
and I sit on the sofa watching TV
when she cleans muck from my eyes
or mops the floor of my fur
when she hugs me tightly till I ‘purr’
or sticks her face on mine till I look aside

who cares who is whom?
We are a happy family
in the castle of Beauty and the Beast

℘℘℘℘

XIAOLI YANG IS A THEOLOGIAN, POET, AND SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR. SHE LIVES AND PLAYS ON WURUNDJERI LAND AND IN THE MIDDLE KINGDOM. This poem was written during Melbourne’s sixth lockdown.