Big, fluffy squirrel
looked in at me
holding me still with her eyes
Paws gripping and ungripping
tail struggling not to flitter
Sunlight speckling
an abstract background
=======
Moments stretched
to more and longer
My fingers wanting to tap
toes aching to dance
Wishing I had a tail to swish
Caught in the magic of the light
squirrel encounter…
Flickering squirrel tail shadows
danced across the window early morn
Shaking the edges of my attention
waking my awareness to outside
Squirrel running back and forth
scurrying and hiding
on the fence rail
from two big blue jays
Pecking at him
his tail a-flickering
all the way
“Oh, squirrel! Hey , squirrel!”
“You with the tail that
could paint masterpieces
What did you do to upset
those birds?”
Or were those sharp beaks
just being bullies
on a shiny new morn?
That same hidden branch there
That in the winter shown
Seemed not to fit, to be askew
Traversing space where
No other branches see fit to
It is the freeway ramp
The well-used connector
From all directions
For little squirrel
Who sat contemplating
In the sunlight
For a warm moment this morning….
Before zooming
down the on ramp
Once more
Dreary grey morning
cool and brisk
Squirrel runs by fast
“Where are those nuts?”
Time to hunker down
Time to consider layers
Time to bring out the teapot
And, when the sun does come out
there are still glorious colors
awaiting our perusal
Little squirrel sat there
(squatted actually)
Staring at me
as I stared at her
Caught in a moment
for more than several
Neither wishing
to break the connection
or be the one who lost
the staring contest
Finally, I had mercy
looked away, broke the spell
Squirrel flicked tail and ran off
down the fence
