Behind the Writing of "I Saw You Again Today" "I held you in my arms then if only with my mind." (Dear Reader) During the year that Shoo and I were together I never did attempt to touch him.To do so, in my mind and heart, would have been to usurp some unwritten law of nature that I believed existed whether I could see it or not. But so often I did touch him with my mind! Watching him as he ate from the bowl beside me I would mentally pick him up and hold him ever so close... whispering into his ear how much I loved him... and with each "I love you" spoken I would see the words as gently stroking his beautiful coat. How I loved my forever cottontail friend... but also, out of this love, I had to respect the fact that he was wild. Shoo-Fly,however,did touch me. On many occasions he would nudge my hand with his nose as I fed him his treats (especially if they weren't coming fast enough!) And so many times his nose would brush against my hand as I attempted to remove it from the bowl before he began eating! And then there were our times in the backyard when he would lie beside me and stretch, pushing his little body up against mine as we lay in the warm summer grass waiting for our evening star. These expressions of love and trust from my forever friend, are more valuable to me than all the world's gold. And I now relive them daily if only with my mind... as once again I pick him up and hold him ever so close... whispering into his ear how much I love and miss him... and how I would give the rest of my life just to sit with him one more time... and then... once again... I feel the soft touch of his nose against my hand... if only with my mind. Written around the year 2004