Watched Watching…
Behind the house a small wood lay.
The man said that at nightfall we could foray
Into the mirk, silently, like flanking scouts
Stalking the unseen…
The barely moonlit darkness instilled cold:
The man then said that badgers would not be bold
Enough to show more than occasional snouts,
Skulking and serene…
Behind a fallen tree we crouched with bated breath.
The man said that there was a sett, a badger’s earth
In the gloom ahead and thus we shivered,
Skulking, not serene…
The barely visible undergrowth was surely deserted:
The man then said that the pursuit had been inverted,
For beyond, over a rotting branch, a badger quivered,
Stalking us, now seen…
Pete Ray
6th January 2021
Sidmouth in Devon, staying with Rose and Wilf, who kept bees, as the image proves and ran a B&B for friends…
Wilf took my father and me into the woods one evening to try to spot a badger but after a cold hour or so hiding behind a fallen tree-trunk, we became aware that a badger had already spotted us and was watching our movements with some interest…
I saw only its snout but the memory has remained with me…
We likes the badgers…
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