I stared up from my dismal lay
And shook road dust off my clogs
I told her of the blinding storms
That swept me from my pollywogs
“You seem so wise,” I said at last
“Is there a chance I pray,
That you could tell me how to find
The Bunk & Belly Inn today?”
“I am going there right now!
Why don’t you tag along?
If we follow Lacy Blooms
She will never lead us wrong”
I leaped up into the air
Higher than I’d jumped before
If I had had a lions throat
Instead of croaking, I would roar!
This was the wish that I’d pled for
My faint heartbeat restored
Through this young fawn’s kindness
My fading hope was reassured
As we bounced along the wood
Through the thriving lacy blooms
Dawn fawn told a forest story
About how nature swaps costumes
“In the time when wind is warm,”
She told me with a thoughtful smile
“Lacy Blooms covers the ground
And living seems much more worthwhile.”
“Sweetness fills the wispy air
Colors too many for fawns to add
Flocks of birds fill miles of sky
Even the weeping willow seems glad
In this time we overlook
We forget how fast it goes away
We forget to take our knees
And for our God-sent blessing pray
Then God sends out small reminders
That keeps us fastened to his heart
When we begin to doubt he’s there
Is when lonesome teardrops start
First comes leaf scattering wind
Then lightning and pouring rain
Before you realize what you’ve lost
You are right back on your knees again
Soon after that, God clears the leaves
Chills the wind and heaps snow in piles
But you know what, my red shoed friend?
You see the Bunk & Belly Inn for miles.”
Just as Dawn Fawn’s fable ended
We emerged from dense wood
We came upon a clearing field
Where paradise now stood
“Is that the Bunk & Belly Inn?”
I shrieked in stunned surprise
This truly cannot be the place
Lord! It looks more like paradise!”
I thought about the story
That my guardian angel shared
Then sent up a silent prayer
I never knew how much God cared
But here I was delivered
As I pitched aside despair
I might have gelled a weeping
But had not a tear to spare
I leapfrogged onto Dawn Fawn’s neck
And hugged her till she groaned
I might have given her a kiss
But, this, God might not have condoned
Just then I saw the tortoise
Moving smartly toward the field
Then I heard the Raven bray
As he over our heads pealed
The tortoise quickly made for the tape
I did not see the hare
But if I started out right now
I might still beat that turtle there