Beso the Donkey is a poetry cycle about a wounded, neglected, and abandoned jackass. In sparklingly clear and luminous poems, Jarrette tells the story of Beso and of his caregivers attempts to understand and heal him an endeavor that teaches the man much about the meaning of life, death, peace, and acceptance. With undertones of Buddhist, Christian, Taoist, and Islamic faiths, Beso the Donkey incorporates elements of philosophy, religion, ethics, and morality. As the book progresses, we sense the poets growing acceptance of lifes passing. Along with the author, we feel a deeper peace blossoming as Besos life is ending (which is itself a beginning).