(Dedicated to Momma Jan
 and the Muses that live in the Guest Room)

There once was a woman named Jan,
who purchased eight acres of land.
 Said she, 
“My home won’t be complete,
‘till I’ve filled it replete,
with all the furred, feathered souls that I can."

She started with birds,
big and squawky they were,
and added some cats, then some more.
She’d come with one “Buff”, 
but one wasn’t enough,
so she added dogs two, three, and four.

Today there are six, 
or seven, or eight - 
to tell the truth, I often lose track—
but you can be sure,
 with all this feather and fur,
of scents and of sounds, there's no lack.

Now for those who are new,
to the hullabaloo,
of bird squawk and puppy pell-melling,
you might find it absurd,
this chaos of dog, cat, and bird,
with the scents and the sounds overwhelming.

You might even wonder,
"What spell Jan is under?!",
for this is not what you'd sanely choose.
But if you ask her, she'll say,
"I'm happy this way,
and after all, whose life is whose?"

The scents and the noise,
are tolerated with joys, 
 by the woman in whose home you stay:
“I live this by choice,
with my 'girls' and my 'boys'. 
It's not just a whim, it’s my way.”

“These pets bring me pleasure
 and grief in fair measure,
though, sometimes my own head starts to spin.
It often is challenging,
 this multiple managing,
of fur and of feather—no fin."

"But these are my companions,
my charges, my boons,
I am their Captain, and they are my crew.
Our lives are entwined,
with emotion and time,
'though I am their care giver, they, too, are mine."

"There's love in this home
if you're willing to find it,
and this mess and this chaos has an order behind it.
It's ordered by caring,
by commitment and play.
It's a wonderful home, here, if you'll see it that way."

"So, if your heart is open,
my door's open, too,
and I'd love to see you, here at the 'zoo'.
We'll greet you in chorus,
we'll welcome you, friend,
we've always room for one more here—
 come in!"