NATURE Poem: Demon, by Charlotte Husnjak

Bright-eyed flash with bushy tail
Scampers o’er night-time veil
Surfs the stars, avoids bright lights
For she’s a mind to feast tonight
And neither gas nor metal’s might
Makes maggot-grub of rubbish sprites.

This pixie picks her trove with care
Is led by smells on rancid air
Bled through the black, escaped the knot
A stubborn smell, the stench of rot
But one man’s trash is other’s fare.

So Foxy doesn’t care one jot.
She rips the bag, and gorges all,
A workout for tomorrow’s caul.
Coffee grinds and and orange peel
When mixed, she finds, make quite the meal.

And licks the bits seen fit to fall
Enthralled she howls out: ‘What a steal!’
That morning had me howling too
Upon finding her residue
Forgetting when the bins were due
I’d left the rubbish out in view!

And orchestrated this duress
As foxes always make a mess
Of all that we folk might make clean
Where once my driveway was pristine
Now seems a sight that some might deem
Best paired up with a guillotine.

One final swipe, as her adieu
She deadheaded my flowers too!