After our animal blessing service on October 5, many people asked me copy for my dog psalm. Here it is — the psalm my dog Cinnamon wrote, channeling it through me, while I was in seminary.
Psalm 1*
A Psalm of Dog.
(c) 2000 Cinnamon Stocker
Alpha Dog is my boss, I shall not want.
She makes me lie down on a soft woolen blanket;
She opens the refrigerator;
She restores my empty, aching tummy.
She takes me on short, ambling walks because of my sore hips,
even though she would prefer longer, more aerobic walks for her own sake.
Even though I was once a sad dog in a cage at the Humane Society, I fear no evil; for you are with me;
your hand on the other end of my leash comforts me.
You prepare a table before me,
and even though you always eat first and give me only the leftovers,I absolutely adore you;
you pat my head and speak lovingly to me;
you fill my water dish constantly because of my thyroid problem,
and twice a day you toss me a piece of cheese with that teeny-tiny pill in it.
Surely goodness, mercy, and regular meals shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in my Alpha-Dog’s house, with my bed at the foot of the stairs, my whole life long.
* This is called Psalm 1 because Cinnamon actually wrote two psalms. (The other one is called “Psalm 2.”) If there is interest, I could be convinced to publish Psalm 2 here. On the other hand, you may have already seen enough of Cinnamon’s “doggerel” to last a lifetime….