Canticle for Rox boy 2006-2010

We buried Rox on Sunday morning.
During the kanaval season, he had disappeared for a whole night and returned exhausted the next morning. He stopped eating soon after and generally deteriorated. Thick green stuff clogging his eyes which were turning yellow, no appetite, vomiting up even water. He must have eaten something poisonous in his nocturnal ramblings. So he died Sunday morning and we buried him under the breadfruit tree in Mahanaim's garden.
He was a good dog, devoted and faithful, a sad-eyed pup that generally stayed close to home. He is missed.

Brought me back to Paul's writing in that great chapter 8 of the Book of Romans about resurrection of all creation. Paul says that the "creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." (v. 21). Yes, animals will also share in the general resurrection of the human race. (C.S. Lewis has written well on these matters.) The new heavens and the new earth certainly won't be some impossible, unrealistic scene of weird Caspar-like ghosts on clouds with harps etc etc. That new world in which righteousness dwells, where Christ Jesus is Lord of lords, will be this creation perfected. In the Book of Revelation, John writes of the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down from heaven. He heard a great voice saying, "the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God." [Revelation 21:3]. The New Earth becomes the Centre of the created universe! In that City and recreated world, we will work, and dance and sing and LIVE in a way unimaginable now. And our animals will be with us. So my Rox will be around. With all the other katts I've buried in the garden. "And death shall be no more!"

My Canticle following is inspired by Romans 8:19-23.

Parade

After the promised irruption of heaven into earth
and subsequent looting of the enemy’s barrows,
imagine — the astounded hurtling of hawk, the disconcerted wonder of
hen,
pup’s amazement, astonished mule, kitten dumbfounded, pipirit
shocked!
And then, the heirs of God, cerement free, parading the blue air.

So great leviathan, cattle, creeping thing, each to its kind,
rise without burden, with the lords of the air,
to come to their City, and their names calling out,
from the Lamb’s Opening Book.

(c) John Robert Lee