Through the Grass, Darkly...

Cherry

By Silver Spun Sand

Mon, 23 Nov 2015
  • 1978 reads
8 comments
 
she scurries...
her sett left far behind.
 
Through the muffled marsh-grass murmur
in the gathering gloom she forages –
 
nose to the wind, every now and then; 
 
fruit, nuts, a fine, fat, juicy earthworm, perhaps,
happens to take her fancy. 
 
On a quiet country lane they find her
bleeding to death – shot in the stomach;
 
a bullet instantly fragments, 
splitting her spleen,
her intestine, 
large and small,
 
 but it’s OK – this humane killing –
given the official seal of approval,
please...don’t give it another thought.
 
As a matter of fact
 
anything up to five minutes
is acceptable...spread the good news;
make sure she knows too – this
 
classed as ‘humane killing’.
 
 
Five minutes of interminable pain
 
Five minutes knowing the embryo
dormant – deep inside you, now.
will never grow to be born...
 
Five minutes in which you will wish
you had never been born
 
Five futile minutes spent
convincing them
you do not spawn TB
 
Five minutes – puts
a new perspective
on eternity
 
Five minutes 
since Badger 41
did not come home
Certificate 12
Poem
Silver Spun Sand Poems
Nature
Inspiration Point (work that responds to our weekly writing cue)

Comments

Submitted by VeraClark on

Agreed, Tina. Barbaric. Numbering the badger has a powerful reverse psychology here. Second person shift is unusual and destabilising - it works really well to distance yourself from the emotion and place your reader central to it. Plus it has immediacy. The opening really warmed me to badger through that delicate snuffly imagery. A beautifully emotive piece but with adequate distance.

 

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on

Thank you, Vera.

Tina

 

Submitted by Pat G on

Important point, powerfully made.

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on

I do hope so, Pat, for all our sakes.

Tina

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Such emotions these lovely creatures arouse. I really liked your snuffly image of the badger foraging. Then realising it wasn't a road-death … Some of the farming community suffering TB great losses, are presumably desperate for some way out. I think there is work going on to test the feasability of badger vaccination http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/appeals/badgers and probably still work in progress over cattle vaccination.

An interesting take on the IP. On a lighter note, we used to call my husband 'badger' when for a while his very black beard had got streaked with grey! Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on

Rhiannon...firstly, thank you so much for that link.  Interesting to say the least.  And thank you also, for making me smile by sharing that wonderful little tale about your hubby.  That beard sounds most endearingsmiley

Tina

 

Submitted by Bee on

That pain is thought acceptable is inhumane. Protest well made in a wonderfully visual piece, without becoming over emotional on the subject.

Bee

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on

Thanks, Bee, so much.

Tina