Thursday, July 28, 2016

The Mammals: Parts I-IV

The Mammals: Parts I-IV
About that pest problem, it's just a minor summer blight like mosquitoes for me. I took care of it yesterday. Cheers.

I: The Marsupial

Oliver Opossum poked his nose out through the leafy pile
Seeing that the distance to his target was not far
Through the neatly tended lawn, he crept along in silent guile
To the waste facility and found the door ajar

This convenient reservoir of items for his family's need
Bordered on the hinterland where he'd made his abode
Chutes and seeds and crumbs of pie crust, on which kin would happily feed
Swelled the shell of cast off plastic where they smartly stowed

In the dark of shift's conclusion, his strong sniffer was his best guide
To the mound of bloated pouches holding what he sought
Chewing through the outer layer to reduce some weight was best tried
If he wanted long to manage with the load he brought

Once he had a bit securely clenched between his diligent jaws
He proceeded dragging his prize back the way he came
There would not be time to snack or even for the slenderest pause
On the way to finalizing his illicit claim

Suddenly the animal was by electric light bulbs struck dumb
And the watchman's accusation calling him a rat
Oliver held both his hands up, each complete with fingers and thumb
As to his identity's proof, certain that was that

By the truncheon hurtling towards him with a murderous force
Accurate enough to make him duck his wily head
Oliver instinctively employed the threatened possum's recourse
Flipping himself over and pretending to be dead

His attacker was about to scoop his body with a spade blade
When the rustle of another burglar caught his ear
Soon as in the open, the opossum his express escape made
Functioning on stimulants injected by his fear

Homeward to his warm dependants, with his catch in tow behind him
He began the journey up a rugged sloping hill
With the eager cry of his impatient mate to rise and find him
Telling him of bellies that demanded he should fill

II: The Rodent

Marvin was a mountain marmot, working on an excavation
High in the exclusive reaches of a rocky pass
With the autumn colours drew the hour of his hibernation
Deep beneath a surface frozen in a sheet of glass

He had had a lucky year, discovering a patch of flowers
Following the flight path of a knowledgable crow
With his yellow underside turned upward, he had passed the hours
Hunger pangs alleviated, nowhere else to go

Now with plenty of provisions and his faith restored by sunlight
Resolutely, he displaced the soil from his spot
Checking edges for a defect to make sure the job was done right
In the digging out of a secure and cozy plot

Halfway down, he struck a solid layer giving stiff resistance
Forcing him to fiercely pull, in order to remove
Stubbornly the boulders came out, one by one, for his persistence
As his bothersome condition slowly would improve

Driven chiefly by a snout that wasn't fashioned for detecting
What distinguished precious metal from a common stone
He let ore accumulate until he had a heap reflecting
Out from the locality of where he worked alone

Once the sun began to lower, having made a deep impression
Tired, he retired to his cottage made of sticks
And before too long, he had to lethargy made his concession
Lost within the drama of imaginary flicks

Through the cracks in Marvin's flimsy barricade, the dawn broke slowly
Finally compelling him to open up his eyes
Though a bit stiff from his labours, on his goal he focussed wholly
Getting up and running through his morning exercise

He retraced his footsteps as they led directly to the work site
But there was an ending to the path that he had worn
Climbing to the limit of the once proud mountain's less than full height
With the vast remainder having been completely shorn

III: The Carnivore

At the close of mating season, some keep cool their disposition
None more so than creatures in the tough and frigid zones
For the canny Alex Fox, companionship was still his mission
Someone to play tug with him and help him warm his bones

Alex had a pretty sheen that caught the eye of Margarita
As he circled round her with primordial intent
From afar she looked all right, though quite impossible to read her
Outside the allure of her intoxicating scent

He pretended he had come to sniff along a nearby cluster
Nodding unaffectedly as he paraded by
His detachment took from him the strongest will that he could muster
Of his passion's resolution, tormentingly shy

Margarita needed proof to feel more sure about his fitness
Though his presentation at the moment ranked the best
Feats of daring and of skill it was her privilege to witness
By submitting Alex to a formidable test

They went to a murky hole where she had dropped a tasty morsel
Whose imposing mouth was too constricting for her grasp
Wishing to appear to her as of the two the more resourceful
He poked in his forepaw and attempted it to clasp

His paw came out mushy from his contact with a mother's payload
Good enough for both of them to share a sweeping lick
To another grab for glory, obvious and clear the way showed
And he'd gladly practice such a favourable trick

Snow White Stork descended on them, mother's fury coming straight out
Screeching like a banshee with her feathers all erect
But with mediocre effort, the attack fell to a clean rout
Alex after sustenance, not merely to protect

After a delicious supper, they went off into the sunset
Headed for a pair-bond of at least a fleeting bliss
Solace from the wild would the roaming two be happy to get
Previous abandonment a thing they would not miss

IV: The Bat

Sleekly built, Nathaniel Bat transcended at the acrobatic
Steering through the twists and turns of his expansive cave
With his clever sound detection, forward flight was automatic
And advantage in the dark against intruders gave

Through the day he hung with a battalion of committed holdouts
In firm opposition to conventional routine
To the common schedule there were no disagreements nor doubts
As they shared the sleepy hours of the great unseen

Buzzing swarms of flying insects hiding under nighttime's cover
They would face and focus on until the sky was clear
Once together airborne, they would travel to the swamp and hover
Poised to dive on passers-by as soon as they flew near

Evening fell and sent them marching to their places on the runway
Then in line behind the leader, to the sky they took
Navigating with a pulse to keep them all directed one way
And receive of airspace an illuminating look

To their vision, moon beams on the trail before them were sufficient
Flight conditions seemed to be acceptably sedate
At detecting their objective they were able and efficient
As a gang of fireflies were doomed to learn too late

In a swoop, the glowing specks would vanish from the dusky skyline
Bats on the offensive in a tactical campaign
Having caught a soft formation on which they could easily dine
And at least their store of fuel evenly sustain

Storm clouds flared up without warning, drifting on a deadly crash course
In the thrill of triumph had Nathaniel failed to see
Deafened by reverberations, his communications grew hoarse
As he veered away from his companions helplessly

In the branches he retreated, wary of the crocodile
Presently the din subsided, letting him alight
Though to get himself back on the proper track would take a while
He would spiral home before the closing of the night

(to be continued)
  
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© 2007, 2016. Verses by David Skerkowski. All rights reserved.

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