pale dry leaves cushion a
spot
under the butterfly bush
in my back yard
a leafy cave
hides a dark place…
from my kitchen window
I see a slight gray shadow
tall ears above a pink nose
I’m startled as two eyes
stare at me from under the
bush
not blinking
a rabbit… frozen as a statue
safe in its stillness
in perfect camouflage hawks
won’t
see as they fly overhead
looking for dinner
I say hello and in an
instant
it hops away
into the grass and weeds
beyond
as if it heard me speak
evening flows in, moves the
day
out of the way
I sense something watching
prepare supper and glance
out the window
there it is again
stares through the window
curious I suppose
I smile and move
to see if it will turn its
head to follow
this time just a flicker of its eye
the rabbit has claimed this
spot
I see its small gray form
every morning
and evening
sometimes it spends the day
there
happily nibbling on seeds
and grass
crabapples spread over the
ground
never moving far from its
hiding place
in the middle\of the night
I hear an animal scream
it isn’t a dream
nor the first time I hear
this sound
filter through my sleep
when you live near farms
and fields
out beyond the lights and
noises of the city
the sharp sadness of loss
the beat of life and death
is always present
in small ways
