PEACE & LOVE
“Truly it is a good thing to be a rabbit,”
thought Brother Rabbit.
“And what a fine fellow I am.”
Brother Rabbit hopped blithely through the woods
as merry and foolish as anybody might be
who was intoxicated by the wholesome warmth
of Brother Sun,
the rich odor of damp earth
recently touched by Sister Rain,
and the clear fresh taste of dewdrops
that glistened upon the leaves –
iridescent pearls scattered by Sister Moon
during the night.
Full of sweet lettuce and joie de vivre,
Brother Rabbit scampered and leapt.
He flicked his ears and wiggled his nose.
“What a delight,”
he mused,
“what ecstasy, to be alive,
to be free,
to be loved by all” –
for Brother Rabbit did indeed believe
that rabbits
were loved by all.
Then Brother Rabbit saw a soft patch of moss
and decided it was the perfect place to sit for a spell
and wash his magnificent ears.
Ear washing is serious business,
as all rabbits and friends of rabbits well know.
But not a moment later
as he bounded toward the lovely place
a terrible pain caught him by the neck
and he was trapped.
“What is this dreadful thing –
this noose around my handsome neck?”
The snare that held him tightened
as he writhed in futile panic.
“Who would do such an evil thing –
to set a trap like this,
to hurt some innocent somebody
who happened to be hopping along,
going about his happy business
in the fragrant smiling dawn?”
Brother Rabbit knew nothing
of wicked minds
and cruel hearts,
for his simple animal soul
was untouched by sin and spite.
He knew only whimsy,
only silliness and trust.
And now he was ensnared
uncomprehendingly and scared
in the vicious grip of pain that
held him there.
“How could it be,”
he wondered disconsolately,
“that this trap was set for me?
How could it be
that someone somewhere
wanted to do this harm to me?”
Then he cowered and shook and wept in his heart.
So rapt was he in his newfound despair
that he did not perceive the friar
who freed him from the snare.
And all at once he was lifted
high above the ground,
held in large strong hands,
and borne he knew not where.
The friar carried him through the woods
and Brother Rabbit laid his ears back
and thumped one hind leg frantically.
But then a wondrous thing happened!
He heard a sound so pure, so dulcet and pure,
that he stilled himself to hear more.
He lifted his ears and strained to hear
a sound as sweet as hay,
a sound as sweet
as gardens are sweet
when plundered on a springtime day.
The friar stopped and Brother Rabbit looked.
The barefoot saint
sat under a tree
preaching the Gospel
to the flowers
and the birds.
This was the sweet sound Brother Rabbit heard.
When the holy man saw him in the friar’s hands,
he smiled warmly
and spoke with fatherly tenderness.
“Poor Brother Rabbit, what has happened to you –
leaping heedlessly about in the perilous world?
Much care must be taken to keep yourself free,
free as a Child of God ought to be.”
Brother Rabbit did not know
the words that he heard,
but their meaning was perfectly clear.
The humble heart of the saint, his serenity and love,
filled Brother Rabbit with peace,
so when the hands that held him set him down
he sprang at once into the sacred lap.
He nestled himself in the coarse brown tunic,
in safety and innocent bliss,
and wild creature though he was,
he rejoiced to allow the gentle saint,
the good and lamblike man of God,
to pet him as he basked in blessedness and grace.
He could have laid there forever
in his own private heaven,
and never been more content.
He could have stayed with the saint
for the rest of his life,
and never wanted anything else.
Then he was placed upon the ground
and bade to return to his home.
“Oh no,” thought Brother Rabbit,
“I’ll not go anywhere.
I’ve found my true home right here.”
And back into the lap he leapt.
Again the saint set him on his way
and again Brother Rabbit returned.
All creatures were dear to Francis,
all things in nature, big and small.
Be they bird or beast, be they wolf or lamb,
Saint Francis loved them all.
The friar took Brother Rabbit
back to his woodland home,
back to his warren,
to his family and friends,
back to the life he had known.
In the quiet hills of Greccio,
where herbs and flowers grow,
where Mother Earth sustains her kin
and Brother Wind doth blow,
Brother Rabbit lived in peace and love,
his Creator he adored,
and all his days he tried to be
a wiser rabbit than before.