Behind the Writing of "Till Dawn" "You gave me your trust and I gave you my love." (Written around the year 2001) In going through the list of poems I was going to incorporate into this website I came across "Till Dawn". Out of all the poems Shoo inspired me to write, I have to admit this one to be a favorite of mine. Although this poem was written almost a year and a half ago, I didn't fully realize the significance of the phrase... "You gave me your trust and I gave you my love" until only very recently when I myself saw "Behind the writing"! And it was this realization that brought tears to my eyes that day alone in my room in awe of the little brown wild rabbit we came to call "Shoo-Fly"! What had I to lose in giving Shoo my love? What could this unusual friendship cost me? Absolutely nothing! What had Shoo to lose? Absolutely everything! In giving me his trust, Shoo gave to me the highest thing he had to give, the hardest thing he had to give, and the most valuable thing he had to give! His trust! How hard that must have been for my wild friend! For him and his kind, I believe the hardest thing possible! How valuable?? The value of his own life and safety! In taking the initiative to make a human his friend he had to surrender his main defense, his natural born wariness, or the friendship could not have been possible. Shoo-Fly was not an injured wild rabbit unwillingly brought into close contact with a human out of circumstances beyond his control. Rather Shoo gave me his friendship by choice...at his own initiative that day in May. It would never have occurred to me that such a friendship was possible! I stand in awe of my forever cottontail friend and the strength it must have taken him to offer me his friendship! I can only hope that he is proud of me and of the tribute I am writing him in these pages.