Listen

Listen to the peep peep peep of the four baby ducklings snuggling up under their light. Listen to the fluffing of feathers as these balls of downy black welcome our smallest chicken, even smaller than any of them. Listen to our little lady wrestle herself in the little mirror. Listen to the little boy telling his crib friends all about penguins, doggie guitars, and mommy and daddy pigs along with their baby pigs, too. Listen to my man scraping out stinky bedding from the coop as chickens sleep on their roosts. Listen to the washer tussle and rinse the days away. Listen to the lonely peacock hoot and caw atop his high perch in the willow trees. Listen to the washer stop, the peeping subside, the boy roll a car slowly and methodically across his crib; to the soft fall of new bedding, to the suckle of mother and daughter. Listen to the lonely peacock hoot and caw and feel the warmth within these walls. Remember how to make this place again and again. Listen again and again.