My Vet World

Hello, It's Sueanoi here

I am going to hazard a guess that you're probably a vetling. You're training to become one very soon, that or you're a very fresh vet. A comprehensive sheet is very useful. It's like a manual paper. Like a gaming guide, a cheat code, a training wheel. Use it often times enough, and you will eventually be able to draw that sheet from inside your head. It would feel like learning to ride a bicycle. Or learning a difficult game like cheese. It's a skill with a very steep learning curve, but once you get to a point you never really forget how to do it.

For me, the first thing I get is Chef Complaint. It's like the start of a branching thought paths. Once you get which tree to follow, the amount of thought that you need to carry will not be so overwhelming.

History will help you prioritize branches on that throught tree. Lessening the load further.

Physical exam will sometimes confirm or deny your thought. but it's ok, because you already pulled up the relevant thoughts, you simply move on to the next most possible in your priority.

When you're training, you are taught to do each of these in order, one by one. But in practise, the process is much more complicated, because people are complicated. They might remember some information they forgot to tell. they might start another thought tree altogether. History might make you want to explore outside of the chef complaint. physical exam might pull you to another problem that's more urgent than CC, and so on.

I'd say there's no right or wrong order of work that you do, when you're talking to people. You can take history, start PE, then history again because you found something suspecious and you need more information. If you're fluent, you can start PE while the owner talks. but I personally don't like to do that only because they like to talk when I'm listening to thorax sound. Now I can't hear the lungs OR the information. So I don't like to do both at the same time.

Repost of Instagram post by alessandra_sanguinetti:

“In 2004 I worked as an intern in Newsweek and had to go through the wires coming in from the Middle East.

The Iraq war was raging. Israel was committing its routine violations and killings.

The images were devastating and unequivocally condemning of both the USA and Israel, but I remember the editors would reject all my picks and demand images of burnt cars or vague images of destruction.

So I brought a hard drive and collected everything they didn't publish.

It was my first live glimpse of the lack of ethics or integrity in most US media.

Not the journalists on the ground, but of the senior editors making the calls - in their self important glass cubicles.

And no, to the cynics out there..it's not all too complicated to discuss on social media.

Social media is the only reason we know what's happening in Palestine.

And the only reason mainstream news has to keep up and sprinkle some actual news now and then.

Meanwhile we are seeing much less footage coming out of Gaza - Israel has been killing off all the journalists.

This is terrifying.”

Their national anthem is not actually theirs. Not in a traditional sense, anyway.

It's an Italian composition from the reinasance called La Mantovana. It spread throughout Europe, eventually becoming a common folk-song. And in my country (and many others), that same melody, in a major key, is literally a children's song about chickens.

Israel's national anthem is just an extremely common European melody. Not even a specifically Jewish one. And sure, they've committed worse crimes than having a bland anthem (like, I don't know, genocide, among other things), but I think that this by itself says a lot about Israel's history and national identity, how it is tied to Europe in some very important ways, whether people like to admit it or not.

In a normal year, this is about the time when people really start buckling down on studying. In COVID world, people are taking the NAVLE as early as this month. As someone who survived this test less than a year ago, I hope I can help other anxious vetlings feel more prepared for the big day.

1. Map out the route to your testing center beforehand. I know some people that actually drove to the site too. Whatever you choose to do, don’t wait until the day of to find out you’ll be driving through a horrible construction area.

2. Use the bathroom before you start. Ok I know this seems obvious but I was really nervous and forgot to go right before. I had to take a break after the first section and I was irritated with myself.

3. Bring snacks! You get a locker where you can keep stuff. Bring food, water, de-stress materials, or whatever else you need. This test isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. You need to re-fuel every now and then.

4. Use your breaks! You don’t have to use all of them, but there’s no reason to power through without stopping. I get wanting to be done quickly, but getting to stop staring at a computer, stretch, and eat a snack really helped reset my brain.

5. It sucks. I’m not gonna sugar-coat it. This test is like 8 hours long, there’s no way it’s not gonna suck. But you know what? It sucked less than I was expecting. And I’m not saying this as a super perfect student who has never gotten below a 90%. I’m a super average student (legit all of my NAVLE sections were average) and I have not inconsequential test anxiety.

6. It’s ok if you don’t pass on the first time. This test does not say how good of a vet you will be. More than half the material will be irrelevant to you, unless you choose to go into an insane mixed practice where you literally see every species. So don’t feel bad for being a small animal focused student and struggling with equine questions. (I have a whole rant about how we should take species specific tests but that’s for another time).

7. When studying, focus on areas you don’t have rotations in. Yes it’s good to review things you’re more familiar with, but you’d be surprised how much you pick up on rotations. Remember that being in school is studying! Rounds are studying! Preparing cases is studying! Just because you aren’t looking at NAVLE specific questions doesn’t mean you’re not becoming more prepared.

8. If you get to a question on the exam that makes your head spin, either skip it and come back to it at the end of the session, or pick a random answer and move on. It’s not worth sitting there and wasting time on one question when you have dozens more to do. ngl I got to a math question and immediately picked a random answer because I knew I did not have the brain power to deal with that in the middle of the exam.

9.Some of the questions are really stupid. A few of them will leave you scratching your head and thinking that all of the answers are dumb and you wouldn’t pick any of them in real life.

10. Do not compare your Zuku/VetPrep progress with your classmates. In fact, just don’t talk about progress at all. There will always be the high strung overachievers who have been studying since 3rd year. Do not feel bad if you are not one of them. We all learn differently and study differently. I did a few quizzes here and there around when 4th year started but I didn’t really start studying until August/September. I have a friend who didn’t study until the month before. I have other classmates who legit started studying before we even started rotations. I also had friends who got to 80-100% on their prep courses. I didn’t even get to 50…and I still passed. Don’t let other people make you feel bad for not studying the same way!

11. Speaking of prep programs, both Zuku and VetPrep are fine. I thought VetPrep looked nicer and was easier to follow but I also felt like Zuku’s questions were harder. I was told VetPrep’s were almost identical to the NAVLE’s. I liked that Zuku’s felt harder because tbh when I got to the actual test, it felt more reasonable. But really, both are fine. They are absolutely worth the money.

12. It is a myth that passes and fails are announced in two big chunks! Maybe it’s like that some years but I found out I passed at different times than other people. So don’t freak out if people start hearing back and you haven’t.

13. No employer is going to ask about your NAVLE scores. No one even bothered to ask if I passed when I did interviews. Literally no one cares.

14. On that note, don’t be an asshole if/when you find out you pass. Remember that some of your classmates are getting really bad news.

15. The single best prep that I did was the ICVA’s practice exam. It is the closest to the actual NAVLE and gives you a more accurate breakdown of where your strengths and weaknesses are. I highly HIGHLY recommend taking at least one of their practice exams.

16. Above all, remember, it’s just a test. It’s stupid and horrible, but you will pass. If you like statistics, there’s about a 95% chance you will pass on your first try. And if you don’t, that’s ok! This test is dumb! I cannot emphasize enough how dumb it is.

In a normal year, this is about the time when people really start buckling down on studying. In COVID world, people are taking the NAVLE as early as this month. As someone who survived this test less than a year ago, I hope I can help other anxious vetlings feel more prepared for the big day.

1. Map out the route to your testing center beforehand. I know some people that actually drove to the site too. Whatever you choose to do, don’t wait until the day of to find out you’ll be driving through a horrible construction area.

2. Use the bathroom before you start. Ok I know this seems obvious but I was really nervous and forgot to go right before. I had to take a break after the first section and I was irritated with myself.

3. Bring snacks! You get a locker where you can keep stuff. Bring food, water, de-stress materials, or whatever else you need. This test isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. You need to re-fuel every now and then.

4. Use your breaks! You don’t have to use all of them, but there’s no reason to power through without stopping. I get wanting to be done quickly, but getting to stop staring at a computer, stretch, and eat a snack really helped reset my brain.

5. It sucks. I’m not gonna sugar-coat it. This test is like 8 hours long, there’s no way it’s not gonna suck. But you know what? It sucked less than I was expecting. And I’m not saying this as a super perfect student who has never gotten below a 90%. I’m a super average student (legit all of my NAVLE sections were average) and I have not inconsequential test anxiety.

6. It’s ok if you don’t pass on the first time. This test does not say how good of a vet you will be. More than half the material will be irrelevant to you, unless you choose to go into an insane mixed practice where you literally see every species. So don’t feel bad for being a small animal focused student and struggling with equine questions. (I have a whole rant about how we should take species specific tests but that’s for another time).

7. When studying, focus on areas you don’t have rotations in. Yes it’s good to review things you’re more familiar with, but you’d be surprised how much you pick up on rotations. Remember that being in school is studying! Rounds are studying! Preparing cases is studying! Just because you aren’t looking at NAVLE specific questions doesn’t mean you’re not becoming more prepared.

8. If you get to a question on the exam that makes your head spin, either skip it and come back to it at the end of the session, or pick a random answer and move on. It’s not worth sitting there and wasting time on one question when you have dozens more to do. ngl I got to a math question and immediately picked a random answer because I knew I did not have the brain power to deal with that in the middle of the exam.

9.Some of the questions are really stupid. A few of them will leave you scratching your head and thinking that all of the answers are dumb and you wouldn’t pick any of them in real life.

10. Do not compare your Zuku/VetPrep progress with your classmates. In fact, just don’t talk about progress at all. There will always be the high strung overachievers who have been studying since 3rd year. Do not feel bad if you are not one of them. We all learn differently and study differently. I did a few quizzes here and there around when 4th year started but I didn’t really start studying until August/September. I have a friend who didn’t study until the month before. I have other classmates who legit started studying before we even started rotations. I also had friends who got to 80-100% on their prep courses. I didn’t even get to 50…and I still passed. Don’t let other people make you feel bad for not studying the same way!

11. Speaking of prep programs, both Zuku and VetPrep are fine. I thought VetPrep looked nicer and was easier to follow but I also felt like Zuku’s questions were harder. I was told VetPrep’s were almost identical to the NAVLE’s. I liked that Zuku’s felt harder because tbh when I got to the actual test, it felt more reasonable. But really, both are fine. They are absolutely worth the money.

12. It is a myth that passes and fails are announced in two big chunks! Maybe it’s like that some years but I found out I passed at different times than other people. So don’t freak out if people start hearing back and you haven’t.

13. No employer is going to ask about your NAVLE scores. No one even bothered to ask if I passed when I did interviews. Literally no one cares.

14. On that note, don’t be an asshole if/when you find out you pass. Remember that some of your classmates are getting really bad news.

15. The single best prep that I did was the ICVA’s practice exam. It is the closest to the actual NAVLE and gives you a more accurate breakdown of where your strengths and weaknesses are. I highly HIGHLY recommend taking at least one of their practice exams.

16. Above all, remember, it’s just a test. It’s stupid and horrible, but you will pass. If you like statistics, there’s about a 95% chance you will pass on your first try. And if you don’t, that’s ok! This test is dumb! I cannot emphasize enough how dumb it is.

In a normal year, this is about the time when people really start buckling down on studying. In COVID world, people are taking the NAVLE as early as this month. As someone who survived this test less than a year ago, I hope I can help other anxious vetlings feel more prepared for the big day.

1. Map out the route to your testing center beforehand. I know some people that actually drove to the site too. Whatever you choose to do, don’t wait until the day of to find out you’ll be driving through a horrible construction area.

2. Use the bathroom before you start. Ok I know this seems obvious but I was really nervous and forgot to go right before. I had to take a break after the first section and I was irritated with myself.

3. Bring snacks! You get a locker where you can keep stuff. Bring food, water, de-stress materials, or whatever else you need. This test isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. You need to re-fuel every now and then.

4. Use your breaks! You don’t have to use all of them, but there’s no reason to power through without stopping. I get wanting to be done quickly, but getting to stop staring at a computer, stretch, and eat a snack really helped reset my brain.

5. It sucks. I’m not gonna sugar-coat it. This test is like 8 hours long, there’s no way it’s not gonna suck. But you know what? It sucked less than I was expecting. And I’m not saying this as a super perfect student who has never gotten below a 90%. I’m a super average student (legit all of my NAVLE sections were average) and I have not inconsequential test anxiety.

6. It’s ok if you don’t pass on the first time. This test does not say how good of a vet you will be. More than half the material will be irrelevant to you, unless you choose to go into an insane mixed practice where you literally see every species. So don’t feel bad for being a small animal focused student and struggling with equine questions. (I have a whole rant about how we should take species specific tests but that’s for another time).

7. When studying, focus on areas you don’t have rotations in. Yes it’s good to review things you’re more familiar with, but you’d be surprised how much you pick up on rotations. Remember that being in school is studying! Rounds are studying! Preparing cases is studying! Just because you aren’t looking at NAVLE specific questions doesn’t mean you’re not becoming more prepared.

8. If you get to a question on the exam that makes your head spin, either skip it and come back to it at the end of the session, or pick a random answer and move on. It’s not worth sitting there and wasting time on one question when you have dozens more to do. ngl I got to a math question and immediately picked a random answer because I knew I did not have the brain power to deal with that in the middle of the exam.

9.Some of the questions are really stupid. A few of them will leave you scratching your head and thinking that all of the answers are dumb and you wouldn’t pick any of them in real life.

10. Do not compare your Zuku/VetPrep progress with your classmates. In fact, just don’t talk about progress at all. There will always be the high strung overachievers who have been studying since 3rd year. Do not feel bad if you are not one of them. We all learn differently and study differently. I did a few quizzes here and there around when 4th year started but I didn’t really start studying until August/September. I have a friend who didn’t study until the month before. I have other classmates who legit started studying before we even started rotations. I also had friends who got to 80-100% on their prep courses. I didn’t even get to 50…and I still passed. Don’t let other people make you feel bad for not studying the same way!

11. Speaking of prep programs, both Zuku and VetPrep are fine. I thought VetPrep looked nicer and was easier to follow but I also felt like Zuku’s questions were harder. I was told VetPrep’s were almost identical to the NAVLE’s. I liked that Zuku’s felt harder because tbh when I got to the actual test, it felt more reasonable. But really, both are fine. They are absolutely worth the money.

12. It is a myth that passes and fails are announced in two big chunks! Maybe it’s like that some years but I found out I passed at different times than other people. So don’t freak out if people start hearing back and you haven’t.

13. No employer is going to ask about your NAVLE scores. No one even bothered to ask if I passed when I did interviews. Literally no one cares.

14. On that note, don’t be an asshole if/when you find out you pass. Remember that some of your classmates are getting really bad news.

15. The single best prep that I did was the ICVA’s practice exam. It is the closest to the actual NAVLE and gives you a more accurate breakdown of where your strengths and weaknesses are. I highly HIGHLY recommend taking at least one of their practice exams.

16. Above all, remember, it’s just a test. It’s stupid and horrible, but you will pass. If you like statistics, there’s about a 95% chance you will pass on your first try. And if you don’t, that’s ok! This test is dumb! I cannot emphasize enough how dumb it is.

Seriously. It’s also OK to tell an owner that you don’t know. But then you need to find the information or send them to someone who does know.

Now there are of course things that you must know. You have to have a solid foundation of knowledge to begin with. What should you know how to do as a new grad?

Perform a complete physical exam

Watch the patient move. Thoroughly palpate the entire body. Feel lymph nodes. Palpate the abdomen. Do an ophthalmic exam and an otic exam. DO A RECTAL EXAM.

KNOW WHAT IS NORMAL

Make a differential diagnosis list

This is absolutely critical. You must be able to take the patient history and your physical exam findings and make a DDX list. Otherwise you will have no idea how to proceed.

Once you have your list you can look up what tests to run to rule those things in or out. Eventually you won’t need to look it up.

Interpret lab work

This doesn’t mean you don’t have to go look something up but you should know if something is off. Pro Tip: Don’t just look for the bold or red results. Know generally where a result should fall.

Choose anesthetic drugs

You should be able to take your exam findings, the planned procedure, lab results, comorbidities and patient temperament into account and make an anesthetic plan

This includes proper pain management!

Be able to do a routine OVH, castration, and mass removal

Seriously, that’s it. So many other soft tissue surgeries use the exact same techniques you use in these.

If you can do an OVH you can do a C-section, a hernia repair, a pyometra, a cystotomy, etc.

Do a (modified) Miller’s knot

This will save you so much time and grief. Get really good at this knot and use it.

Know how to stabilize an emergency

Not working in an ER? You will still see emergencies. You don’t have to know how to do everything but you can stop bleeding, apply splints/bandages, give pain medication, induce emesis, give activated charcoal, etc. Then when stable ship these patients to the ER.

Don’t lie about your comfort level

If you don’t know how to do something don’t tell people you do! Remember that it’s ok not to know. But then you need to learn.

Bad things will happen if you say you can do something but actually can’t. Patients can die. You can lose your license. You could be fired. Or you’ll just have the reputation of being a liar and you won’t be trusted.

Talk to clients

You HAVE to speak to pet owners. It is so, so important that you can tell them what you are doing, what you have found, and why you need to do certain things.

If you cannot explain something to an owner is it because you actually don’t understand it yourself?

Every owner is different and you cannot use the same approach with everyone. Learn different ways of going about things

Accept failure

You are going to make mistakes. Don’t lie about them. Fix them or do what you can to make the situation better. Learn from these mistakes.

You won’t mesh with all clients. Some people simply won’t like you and some will complain about you. Learn from it but don’t stress. If it happens often figure out why, sometimes it really is you, often it isn’t.

There’s a lot of talk about Coronavirus at the moment, and a lot of misinformation in these early days while data is still being gathered, so lets clear some things up.

There is more than one coronavirus. Coronavirus is a family, there’s a bunch of them, and many have been well known for a jolly long time. 

COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) is the illness caused by SARS-CoV-2, it’s relatively new and it’s what we’re all worried about. 

The COVID-19 virus was detected in one, single dog in Hong Kong, owned by a human who was infected with the virus. This dog continued to have low levels of the virus detectable in its mouth for several days, never showed any signs of clinical disease, and so far (March 12th local time) has not demonstrated a serological response. 

So it appears that while COVID-19 can exist in dogs, if it does so it is the dog getting infected from its human, and there is no evidence that they then transmit the illness on to other humans. Think of the dog’s mouth like unwashed human hands - the virus can be there, but hasn’t actually infected the hands.

Current advice is to keep suspect pets with their owners if they are in self-quarantine, and wash your hands after handling. Also, don’t let your pets lick your face if you have any cold or flu symptoms.

More info below cut, including other species.

The dog never showed any symptoms despite being carefully watched.

They repeatedly tested negative for days before release, and continued to show now symptoms.

They were 17 years old, which is an advanced age for any dog, even a pomeranian.

The Hong Kong dog did have evidence of antibodies to COVID-19, though never any symptoms and never any evidence that it was capable of transmitting it.

There is one case of a cat in Belgium that has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus and is unwell with both respiratory and gastrointestinal signs. This is still early days and waiting for more info, but it was owned by a COVID-19 infected owner and appears to have picked up the infection from the owner in close contact.

The virus can experimentally replicate in the nose of ferrets. There is no known natural occurrence of this so far, but if you experimentally squirt the virus up ferret noses it’s quite capable of replicating there, and their tonsils. Not a peer reviewed study, because peer reviews take time but worthy of a ‘watch this space’ flag when dealing with ferrets owned by infected people.

The above study is small and not peer reviewed, but suggests while cats and ferrets have some susceptibility, dogs are less susceptible, and pigs and poultry are very resistant. However, when you consider the sheer numbers of domestic pets in contact with hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 cases worldwide, the risks from animals is infinitesimally low and no evidence yet that they can transmit, though some may potentially be able to be infected by humans.

Just keep washing your hands, and don’t let pets lick your face. The numbers are still incredibly low in the real world (Three. There are three cases.) but we are watching this space.

Starting to get a little wary of the feline situation.

Domestic cats:

Experimentally infected cats might be able to shed enough virus so that virus particles are detectable in adjacent cats who were not experimentally infected.

This is why there are recommendations to keep your cats indoors during the pandemic. (should be always, but especially now) Treat them like an extended family member or part of your house, only you can’t disinfect them if they bring viral particles inside.

SARS, which is related but distinct, was detected in an outbreak in cats in 2003. There was thought to be no cat-to-human transmission, but thought the cats contracted the virus from human contact, or contact with human garbage.

In addition to the Belgian cat mentioned in the previous update, one additional cat in Hong Kong has tested positive for viral detected, though has no symptoms at this stage.

Naturally occurring infections in cats continues to appear exceedingly rare, but good advice is to keep your cats home with you, do not care for them directly if you have respiratory symptoms, and do not pet strange cats while outside.

AVA summary with relevant links here.

In addition, blood sampling of cats in Wuhan, while no disease in the cats was reported, suggests that ~14% of them had specific, effective antibodies for neutralizing COVID-19, which did NOT cross-react to the normal feline coronaviruses. This suggests that COVID-19 can enter cats, but not that they are likely to become unwell or that they shed it. This is also a preliminary report, not a peer reviewed study so should be considered with caution.

Big Cats

There is a case of a tiger in a Bronx zoo having both respiratory symptoms and testing positive to COVID-19. I have been trying to wait for more information before commenting, though additional information hasn’t been forthcoming yet.

Multiple big cats at the zoo are showing symptoms, but only one has been tested to date because testing them required general anaesthesia and is a risk to both patient and staff.

It’s thought an asymptomatic keeper is the cause of the infection, however this is currently not verified and New York is a bit of a COVID-19 hot spot right now.

Keepers should not have direct contact with the big cats, but viral particles may have gotten in on equipment, food etc. Or, more concerning, potential transmission breathing the same air for several minutes in face-to face contact from several feet away and through a barrier. How the infection occurred is not currently clear.

If multiple big cats are affected, this looks suspicious for cat-to-cat transmission of the virus between the tigers and lions.

And in general IDEXX is developing a commercial COVID-19 test for domestic pets, have processed ‘thousands of samples from the USA and South Korea’ and… haven’t actually found a positive yet. They are expanding their sample collection. (Link, about halfway down page under drop down options)

Long Eared Jerboa

a sichuan takin bull and his daughter

ESPECIALLY BABY ECHIDNAS

Originally posted by lovefloridauk

They’re just big lumps that float around the sea. They’re non-aggressive, non-territorial herbivores that spend most of their time sleeping or eating, or they might be socializing with other manatees or investigating interesting objects.

Maine coons!! So soft and friendly!!!

Look at these babies!!!

Coati! They are native to my country of Panama and they are basically raccon, possum, civet, meerkat hyrbid aka an animal straight outta Avatar the Last Airbended

This is a baby South American Tapirs or Tapirus terrestris are unique for their stripes. It is also called Brazilian Tapir and is the second largest land mammal in South America next to the Baird’s Tapir.

Here’s a full grown one with it’s baby for reference.

And then there is the Malayan (or Asian) Tapir and it looks like a panda that mated with an anteater.

القصيدة:

غادروني بالأثيلِ والنَّقَّا — أسكُبُ الدّمْعَ، وأشكُو الحُرَقا

بأبي مَن ذُبتُ فِيهِ كَمَداً —  بأبي مَنْ مُتُّ مِنهُ فَرَقا

حمرة ُ الخجلة ِ في وجنتهِ —  وضحُ الصُّبحِ يناغي الشَّفقا

قوَّضَ الصَّبرَ، وطنَّبَ الأسى —  وأنا ما بينَ هذينِ لقا

من لبثِّي، من لوجدي، دلَّني —  من لحزني، من لصبٍّ عشقا

كلما صنتُ تباريحَ الهوى — فَضَحَ الدّمعُ الجَوَى والأرَقَا

فإذا قلتُ: هبوا لي نظرة ً! — قِيلَ ما تُمنَعُ إلاّ شَفَقا

ما عسى تغنيكَ منهمْ نظرة ً — هي إلاَّ لمحُ برقٍ برقا

لستُ أنسى إذ حدى الحادي بهمْ —  يَطلُبُ البينَ ويَبغي الأبرَقا

نَعَقَتْ أغرِبَة ُ البَيْنِ بِهِمْ — لا رعى اللهُ غراباً نعقا

ما غرابُ البينِ إلاَّ جملٌ —  سارَ بالأحبابِ نصَّاً عنقا 

الشرح:

وقال رضي الله عنه

غادروني بالأثيلِ (الشجر) والنَّقَّا (كثيب الرمل) —  أسكُبُ الدّمْعَ، وأشكُو الحُرَقا

لما عاين جلساءه من الروحانيات الملكية قد رحلوا عنه جائلين في الفسحات العلى لا يقيدهم مكان طبيعي وبقى مرتهن هو بهذا الهيكل وتدبيره مقيد به عن الأنفاس في مسارح فرج تلك الأطباق العلى جعل يسكب الدمع بذلك ويشكو حرقة الشوق إلي بفؤاده حل به، والأثيل عبارة عن أصله الطبيعي يريد الطبيعة، والنقا عبارة عن جسمه فإنه أفضل ما انتقى، فمن هذه الطبيعة هذا الجسم الإنساني فإنه أعدل النشآت الطبيعية، ولذلك قبل الصورة الإلهية، فكنى عنه هنا بالنقا، وقد يريد بقوله: أسكب الدمع، يقول: تركوني بعالم الطبيعة أبث المعارف المتعلقة بالمناظر العلى لأبناء الجنس المحبوسين عن هذه الأذواق العلية ونيل ما ناله الرجال بصدق الأحوال وأشكو الحرقا من الحسرة عليهم حيث لم يكن لهم هذا الخبر عيانا فيكون من باب الرحمة بالخلق، والأول أمكن من القصد من الثاني لكن الثاني متوجه في حق السامعين، فإنهم مع الوقت، ولو كان هذا البيت مفردًا لتحقق به هذا الوجه الثاني، وإنما كان الوجه الأول أمكن من أجل الأبيات التي تأتي بعده، فالأول والثاني للسماع والأول وحده للسماع وزيادة وهي معرفة ما بعده.

بأبي مَن ذُبتُ فِيهِ كَمَداً —  بأبي مَنْ مُتُّ مِنهُ فَرَقا

يفديه بأبيه الذي هو الروح الكلي الأعلى فإنه أبوه الحقيقي العلوي وأمه الطبيعة السفلية، فيفدي بهذا الأب هذا السر الإلهي النازل عليه الذي وسعه قلبه وهو المعبر عنه في هذا البيت بمن ونسب الذوبان فيه إلى الكمد. يقول إنه في مقام العشق له للاسم الجميل الذي تجلى له فيه، ثم كرر الفداء له بأبيه فقال بأبي من مت يشير إلى مقام الذوبان أيضا بالموت ولكن خوفًا من أنوار الهيبة يقول فطر عليّ الذوبان والفناء عني بحالة مني وهي العشق بما اقتضاه ذلك الجمال الأعلى من الهيبة وأن الجمال مهوب معظم محبوب والجلال ليس كذلك فإنه مهوب معظم وليس بمحبوب فإنه من سطوات القهر والجبروت فتفرق منه النفوس ولما اطلع هذا السر الإلهي الذي وسع هذا القلب الشريف على ما أثر فيه من الذوبان، والموت استحيا منه حيث لم تتنزل معه إليه الألطاف الخفية التي تبقيه فقال:

حمرة ُ الخجلة ِ في وجنتهِ —  وضحُ الصُّبحِ يناغي الشَّفقا

فذكر أنه خجل لما ذكرناه ومن أسمائه الحي، وقد جاء أن الله تعالى يستحي من عبده ذي الشيبة أن يكذبه فيما كذب فيه، ولما كان هذا التجلي في الصور المثالية مثل حديث عكرمة عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم حيث قال: (رأيت ربي في صورة شاب أمرد عليه حلة من ذهب وعلى رأسه تاج من ذهب وفي رجله نعلان من ذهب) وأشباه هذه الأحاديث.

المشكلة التي ذكرتها العلماء قال الله تعالى: (وفي أنفسكم أفلا تبصرون) كما قال الشيخ رحمه الله وتكلمت عليها فتلك الصورة هي المنسوب إليها هذه الخجلة فتقبل أيضًا الحمرة من حيث ما هي صورة جسدية والوجنة، ثم أوقع التشبيه في بياض الوجه وحمرة الخجلة في الخد، فوضح الصبح الذي هو بياضه وحمرة الشفق كأنهما يتحدثان بالسبب الذي أوجب هذا الحياء مما طرأ على هذا القلب من التجلي.

قوَّضَ الصَّبرَ، وطنَّبَ الأسى —  وأنا ما بينَ هذينِ لقا

يقول قوض الصبر أي رفع خيامه ورحل والحزن نزل ومد طنبه وضرب فسطاطه، فيقول: فأداني عدم الصبر ونزول الحزن وما تم ما يقاومه إلى الهلاك وأنا ملقى لا حراك بي هالك تحت سلطان الوجد في مقام البوح والإفشاء والإعلان بما تنطوي عليه الضلوع من الأسرار الشوقية: انتقلت عن الاسم الصبور، فلم أقدر أن أملك وجدي فظهر في سلطانه، ثم أخذ يقول:

من لبثِّي، من لوجدي، دلَّني —  من لحزني، من لصبٍّ عشقا

يقول هل من جامع لما تفرق من همومي من يرثى لما حل بي من لوجدي، أي ما أحس به من آلام البلوى بالانتقال مع الأسماء والوقوف معها عما تعطيه الذات من الثبات من لحزني، يقول من صعوبة هذا الأمر بتسهيله من نصبّ يقول مائل ما له مقيم من ميله عشقًا عانق الشدائد، تعانق اللام للألف مأخوذ من العشقة، يقول: دلوني على من يأخذ بيدي من مقام التفرق فيدلني في عين جمع الجميع والشهود بلا مزيد فإن المزيد حالة تؤذن بعدم الكمال.

كلما صنتُ تباريحَ الهوى —  فَضَحَ الدّمعُ الجَوَى والأرَقَا

يقول كلما رمت أن أقوم في مقام الكتمان مما أكنه من الجوى والأرق أبت الدموع بانسكابها إلا الإفشاء والبوح، فإن الوجد أملك وهو أبلغ في المحبة من الكتمان، فإن صاحب الكتمان له سلطان على الحب، والبائح يغلب عليه سلطان الحب فهو أعشق ولا يحجبنك قول المحب القائل:

باح مجنون عامر بهواه – وكتمت الهوى فمتُّ بوجدي

فإذا كان في القيامة نودي – من قتيل الهوى تقدمت وحدي

فإن هذا القائل لم يتمكن من الحب تمكن من لم يترك فيه سلطان غيره، فإن الذي حجب الحب عن ظهور سلطانه أقوى منه، فكان عقله أغلب ولا خير في حب يدبر بالعقل، بل أحكام المحبة تناقض تدبير العقول.

فإذا قلتُ: هبوا لي نظرة ً! —  قِيلَ ما تُمنَعُ إلاّ شَفَقا

يشير إلى قوله عليه الصلاة والسلام: (لأحرقت سجات وجهه ما أدركه بصره)، فكان إرسال الحجب بين السبحات وبين الخلق رحمة بهم وإشفاقا على وجودهم فإن قيل فقد وعد بالرؤية في دار الآخرة فكيف يكون البقاء هناك ولا فرق بين الدارين من كونهما مخلوقتين وممكنين قلنا إذا فهمت معنى إضافة السبحات إلى وجهه، وفرقت بين هذا القول وقوله ترون ربكم، وقوله تعالى: (وجوه يومئذ ناضرة إلى ربها ناظرة)، فعلق الرؤية بالرب والإحراق بالوجه، وقوله: (لا تدركه الأبصار) يعني الوجه عرفت حينئذ الفرق بين الخبرين وتحققت أن هذا الاعتراض غير لازم ويريد أيضا بقوله هبوا لي نظرة وقوله ما تمنع إلا شفقا لأن الوجد وأليم الحب والنظر إلى المحبوب يزيده وجدا إلى وجده وحبًا إلى حبه فكأنه يطلب الزيادة من عذابه فقيل له نحن نشفق عليك لذلك وليس مع الحب تدبير فإنه يعمي ويصمم والمحبوب صاح فيرفق به من حيث لا يريد المحب:

ما عسى تغنيكَ منهمْ نظرة ً—  هي إلاَّ لمحُ برقٍ برقا

يقول إن هذه النظرة لا تغني من الوجد شيئا فإن مثلها في الفعل بالقلب مثل فعل ماء البحر بالظمآن كلما ازداد شربا ازداد عطشا، ثم أنك لما كنت مركبا وأنت مدبر لمركب ولم تكن بسيطا لم يتمكن لك دوام الرؤية بحكم الاتصال فإنك مطلوب بإقامة ملك بدنك وتدبيره فلابد لك من الرجوع إليه وإرسال الحجب بينك وبين مطلوبك الذي تيمك وهيمك وهيجك بنيران تلك النظرة بذلك التجلي بمنزلة لمحك للبرق إذا برق وهو الوقت الذي لا يسعك فيه غير ربك

لستُ أنسى إذ حدى الحادي بهمْ —  يَطلُبُ البينَ ويَبغي الأبرَقا

يقول: لما دعوا من جانب الحق هؤلاء الروحانيات العلى الذين كانوا لنا جلساء في الله تعالى، وحدا بهم داعي الحق إلى العروج إليه كما قال عليه الصلاة والسلام: (يتعاقبون فيكم ملائكة بالليل وملائكة بالنهار، ثم يعرج الذين باتوا فيكم فيسألهم وهو أعلم، كيف تركتم عبادي فيقولون تركناهم يصلون وأتيناهم وهو يصلون)، كذلك عند الصبح والعصر، وقوله يطلب البيت يعني هذا الحادي بهم يطلب الفراق والبعد من عالم الكون بهؤلاء الروحانيات، وأتى بلفظة البين دون غيره، لأنه من الأضداد فهو فراق عن كذا فيه انفصال بكذا وهو المقصود ولا يوجد ذلك في غير لفظة البين، وقوله ويبغي الأبرقا. يقول: ويبغي بهم المكان الذي يقع لهم فيه شهود الحق تعالى وسماه الأبرق لما شبه الشهود الذاتي بالبرق لنوره وسرعة زواله كنى عن المكان والحضرة التي يقع فيها هذا الشهور بالأبرق أي المكان الذي يظهر فيه البرق

نَعَقَتْ أغرِبَة ُ البَيْنِ بِهِمْ —  لا رعى اللهُ غراباً نعقا

كنى بأغربة البين عن الأمور التي خلفته عن العروج معهم إلى الأبرق وهي ملاحظات وجوده الطبيعي الذي أمر بتدبيره والقيام بسياسته فهو يتشاءم بملكه ويتمنى الانتقال من مقام الملك إلى العبودية التي هي في الحقيقة ملك الملك، ثم أخذ يدعو على كل من كان سببا لفراقه وعن أحبته المساعدين له على ما في همته بتخلفه عنهم درجوا عنه.

ما غرابُ البينِ إلاَّ جملٌ —  سارَ بالأحبابِ نصَّاً عنقا