StreetScene

 Squirrel trembles like an autumn leaf, nut-brown
 And hesitating on the curb; his eyes
 Gleam in the headlights of a car that grows
 Too fast for rodent reflexes to judge.

 The Driver lifts her foot. Squirrel gauges range,
 Decides to dart ... but pauses in the lane,
 Looks back, and twitches tail. Now tires squeal
 As Driver winces, waiting for a thump
 To signal the descent of death's sharp scythe.

 But no! --- Squirrel summons magic, dodges, leaps,
 Evades, and gains the farther shore. He sits
 As taillights dwindle ... sniffs the air ... and then
 He turns around to cross the road again.

 Meanwhile, a block downstream our Driver spies
 Another glimmer by the asphalt's edge.
 Heart still aflutter from the last near-miss
 She taps the brakes, slows almost to a crawl,
 So when the pre-dawn runner swerves in front
 He lives: Squirrel sorcery protected him.

TopicPoetry - Datetag20011117

(correlates: NorthwestBranchMemories, NimbusHaloGloryAureole, SuVexation, ...)