Tuesday, 10 October 2023

THE POP-UPS & THE SLIP... (My new poem about the Temple Balsall badgers, one of which slipped...)

 The Pop-ups & The Slip…



Heads popped up from three separate holes at early evening,

Two of the badgers seemingly unwilling to venture 

More than a metre or two from the dark, scraped soil and stones

On the edges of their setts, powerfully clawed.

The third nearby, popped up its head on two occasions, gleaning

 With gusto, if a little tentatively, unable to resist the lure,

Despite a lurking robin and a magpie’s lurid, tuneless groans,

As for hidden food beneath autumn leaves it industriously pawed… 


Then, in rather ungainly fashion, the badger’s rear legs slipped

And its lusty buttocks dropped unceremoniously

Into the hole, but its dignity was preserved as it gripped

The earth with strong front feet and foraged on, if slightly ungracefully…


Pete Ray

10th October 2023…  


Three badgers showed themselves, although reluctantly, it appeared…


The badger nearest to where I tarried nearly made me laugh out loud, for its back legs slipped into its sett-hole whilst it foraged for the food I had spread about. 


To be fair though, its recovery was quite smoothly carried out… 

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