We were walking down the street
Considering the possibilities
Think I mentioned COVID
The bloody inconvenience of it
Then we saw a squirrel
Staggering across the road
It looked drunk
Something spurted from its head
It stammered and it fell
Body convulsing in violent revolt
Against impending doom
Like that kid in school
With a horrible stutter
Head sloped and twitching
As if searching for something
We stopped sipping our cappuccinos
And looked on
I wanted it to end
But also to keep living
I stepped forward
And then stepped back
*
In a distant woodland
In the near silent shade
We met a huntsman
Bandolier wrapped
around his game-filled belly
He told us the Greys were vermin
They stripped the bark of trees
And ate the eggs of birds
They were no good
They had to go
It’s us or them
Not on my land my friend said
*
But the hunter will have his prey
Any way
As we pulled it to the curb
By the tail
Its mouth open and pained
Stained
And burnished crimson
Already strangely faded
Profiled against tarmac
Like he got a bad nut
And turned to stone
A lady looked on
Aghast, ashamed
Trying to find a way to bring it back
Not like this
Not like this
I wonder if she’s still standing there
Mask on
Lips twitching
Convulsing
Almost hidden from view
She was just passing by
When this all happened
To hell with oncoming traffic
To hell with Corona
To hell with stepping back
Death in life
Is the gravest thing.
