This was shared with me and now I hope to share it with you.

Ode To A Shelter Mom!

Shelter Moms take to their hearts Those hungry, wondering strays.
Those voiceless little creatures Someone else has thrown away.
They care for them, then give them love They hug them every day.
But sometimes they're beyond her help And quietly slip away.
She keeps their little faces Tucked away deep in her heart.
And one day many years from now from this world she will part.
You've heard the thunder in the skies while the sun is shining brightly.
Or it may be in the winter when the snow is falling lightly.
That was not thunder that you heard but a thousand little feet. 
Running across the Rainbow Bridge their shelter Mom to meet.
They rush into her waiting arms She hugs them everyone.
While the world stands still and questions why there's thunder with
the sun.

Author Unknown

[A later moderator's note: The author of this poem is Marilyn Ledoux]

He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep, pain that cannot
forget falls drop by drop upon the heart. And in our own despair, and
against our will, comes Wisdom by the awful Grace of God...Aeschylus

[Posted in FML 5608]