“Behold,  your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey.”
(Matthew 21: 5, ESV) 

The animals are arriving from the Garden,
having known no desire for

the low-hanging fruit on the Tree.
What need had they to know Good from Evil,

to be like their Creator,
having been fashioned Good,

emissaries from the Peaceable Kingdom,
companions of the child who leads them

to lie down in pastures of grain,
seed-bearing plants, straw

for the lion and the ox, wolf and lamb
grazing together, a messianic age

come alike for fox and shepherd dog
as the child’s path portends

darkness descending, stars snuffed out,
fox and dog nesting beside

the impossible stone
sealing the child’s den, for now.

They know. Winter passes.
The light returns.