Wednesday, April 4, 2012

April 4: Possum

Notice the eyes and twitching nose
peer over the railing,
expert at scenting malice.
The water I leave out
goes untouched, tainted
by uncertainty. Later, I see
her curled behind the mirror
propped against the wall.
She feels safe unseen; thinks
I only observe my own reflection
and ignores her tail
sticking out from its frame.

6 comments:

  1. Hi, Emily! Possums are YUK! That is quite an image you painted in the poem. Very nicely done, and imaginative!

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  2. Hi Miko :-)

    Great to see you here. Glad you enjoyed this one, and that your thread was spared the PFFA carnage!

    Maybe the universe doesn't want me to do NaPo this year. Ha. I live in hope of a last minute resurrection by bela though.

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  3. hmmmm, or maybe she's jsut stuck - and how does N know it's a she and not a he? hmmm.......

    cookala
    http://cheeseclothmoon.wordpress.com

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  4. That is your cat poem, innit?So I ignorantly thought till I read up on marsupials and their long tails, and realized you Australians are always impressing the rest of us with your amazingly exotic zoology... Dunc and FB too! Puzzled that Miko knew possums, I checked and there is one in the States too, the one that plays dead... or maybe they all do that. Cute portrait!

    Sorella

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  5. Hi Mari! Dunno if you're still NaPoing or if you've given up, but I did want to say that "Possum" is my favorite so far. I like how possums, like gorgons, can be defeated with mirrors.

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  6. Hehe. Wow, thanks everyone.

    Interesting question, cookie; I was going for some sort of identification between N and the possum (the instinct to hide) and saw N as female but I'll have a think about that.

    Karin, yeah the ones in Australia look quite different to the American ones :)

    Rachael, thank you! No I haven't given up. Still woefully behind but have some leave coming up over the next few days--might be inspiring enough for me to catch up. I live in hope!

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