For Uncle Lee

You are passing soon.

Your soul will be free to roam the Earth again, to roam this beautiful world again.

You can cross the forest roads as a porcupine and help an uncle teach his young niece about nature. And you will be just as patient as that porcupine was for them that warm day in Wyoming as they drove through the forest. You will let them get close enough to see the colors of your quills, to hear your squeaks, to smell your musty scent. You will let them gently touch you with a stick and curl up into a ball so the uncle can teach her about your defenses. You will roll over onto your back for them so the uncle can teach her about your soft underbelly. You will quietly and calmly sit there so the girl can get a good look at your face... that cute little nose and beady little eyes. You'll even stick your tongue out for her to see its bright pink color. You will be patient, you will realize that this is a learning experience for the girl, that they aren't trying to harm you in any way and never would. When the uncle is done teaching his niece you will slowly waddle off into the deep woods and go about your day while they drive away in the old blue Ford.

You can howl at the moon as a wolf while an uncle teaches his young niece what your sound means. You will howl for hours and scare the little girl. But don't worry the uncle will tell her that your sounds are telling all your wolf friends that it's safe to come out and play, that your sound is warning other predators of your presence, that you're sound is actually keeping them very safe. Knowing that you are close by means that other predators won't likely move in on the two tent camp they have set up in the middle of no where. The little girl will fall asleep listening to your howls in the night.

You can stand as mighty as a fir tree for hundreds of years as an uncle watches his niece dance around your trunk. You will be patient and kind to the little girl. You won't trip her with your roots or snag her with your twigs. You'll let her gallop and jump around your base as the uncle tells her about your history. The young girl will walk away smelling like fir for days and her mother will complain about having to wash her clothes again because "that smell just won't come out".

You can be the rattlesnake that seeks comfort and coolness between the rocks in the warm desert of Wyoming. You will teach the young niece what rattlesnake really tastes like. You will scare the girls aunt and make them run. You will cause the uncle to pull his hand gun that he always carries and shoot you before you can spring at the young girl. The uncle will then start a fire in the desert and cook you as a meal for his wife and niece. The young girl will taste your flesh for the very first time and say "it tastes like chicken" and make the aunt and uncle laugh. The little girl will play with your rattle for years to come before she loses it in the woods in Arkansas. Your skin is still hanging in the uncles house right above his favorite chair. Your soul will move on again to something just as nice.

You can be the antelope leaping over the plains of Wyoming. You will be cautious but patient as the uncle and young girl slowly approach you. You will not let them get within 35 feet of you but you stand there and watch as the uncle tells her about your antlers and body markings. He tells her that you eat the grass they are standing on that you run in packs. And then later that night, the uncle and young girl will have antelope for dinner, they will eat one of your friends or family members, but know that nothing was wasted, every last piece of your friend was used.

You can soar as an eagle and watch over the home land.

You can stretch as a grizzly bear waking from his long winters sleep.

You can saunter as a moose through the deep green forests.

You can swim as an otter in the cool river waters.

You can build as a beaver to protect your family.

Your soul can be anything it wants... I know your soul will do great things and teach great things in the years to come. Your soul has already taught me so much while you were living in this body that you've inhabited for so many years. I know you have touched others the same way you have touched me, I know you have taught others so much in your time as my uncle.

The body that you have inhabited for many years will now become a part of the Earth. You're body will now become the grass that the antelope eat. The antelope will become the food that the bear or wolves eat. Your physical being will become part of this great Earth all over again.

You have always been one with this beautiful Earth and you will always continue to be.

I know you will visit me again in some form, I truly look forward to that moment.