The Personal Space of Norman Milliken « Poetry «
raccoon death
raccoon death
bloated bodies
straddle
center lines and shoulders
on country two-lanes.
night transits
promise grubs, nuts,
worms,
and crayfish
startling backwards
through dark water.
so in the dark angling
across sun-warm asphalt,
they waddle under wheels
and thump down
the road,
ringed tails full
and bushy, even
in death.
U668857 on May 2 2008 edit · delete Ah - reminds me of dead badgers on one particular road in Dorset (saw 3 dead in the space of a few miles). This has some fine assonance - almost evokes the critter's snuffle and grunt as they waddle to their death. And it's good you retain a detached objective tone - though that final image of bushy tails has a poignant undertone....BRgds.,Alan.
