Another bout of node your homework. "Write a poem or short story taking place in your chosen nature location exemplifying the crossroads of scientific writing and poetic writing.
Nothing sees me when I dig through the trash
(with half-wrapped hamburgers and melted cheese and paper bags with skinny fried potato slices at the bottom!)
not if I don't want them to.
I creep in the darkness, slipping between shadows, skulking in darkness
weaving in and out of the night.
dart across the road- quick quick!
These monsters, these cars stink like iron and smoke and wouldn't hesitate
to hit little old me
(even if I wanted them to see me, which I don't)
Into the bushes, back to the brush
my home, for now.
I pass the camp
(It reeks of humans)
and see a hen.
The hen doesn't see me. Why would she?
She's asleep.
Stupid creatures, hens.
But also tasty.
When I leave, there's nothing left of her
but a few loose feathers and a patch of blood.
White that's half-soaked in a red that looks black in the dark.
* * * * *
i have started writing in
this journal
because mrs. Brinkerhoff
says i should.
She gave every one in class a journal
but i kept taking mine home
and filling it up
when it was supposed to be just for class.
sorry.
So she gave me this nice journal with the hard cardboard cover and a picture of a fox on it
and i really like foxes
and now i can write what i want without filling up the school journal.
So this is what happened today.
Today i went to the park with a lake.
There were big ugly ducks that chased me.
They didn't quack
They made honking noise.
i threw bread at one and the bread landed on its back
and the other ugly ducks chased it into the water
and it was funny.
The End.
* * * * *
Nobody sees me unless I want them to.
Even if, occasionally, they see this body
—which happens, I'll admit—
they do not see me.
I travel through the woods, following the scent of food
(squirrels and mice and rabbits and frogs and occasionally birds
—Though only if other food is hard to come by,
which it never is in this place, even in winter—
And eggs and blackberries and worms and
Of course, Human trash.)
It is almost winter now, and most of the food I like hides underground.
I hear it.
They sleep in their burrows. I follow the noise of their heartbeats
(beat beat beat beat)
Even through snow (though it doesn’t snow here) and layers of thick, damp leaves, I hear them,
and when I am directly overhead
Dive!
I dig. Dirt flies around and before they know what’s happened,
Before waking—
I have them.
This is how a fox body eats.
There are others here.
These creatures are almost like me, but they are not like me.
They only have one body. They are animals.
Their bodies are almost like the one I wear, but there are differences:
My coat is red, theirs is bristled gray on their backs
and red-brown where the gray ends.
We both have white bellies
and black tipped tails,
so I cannot fault their style entirely.
My legs have black on them though, and theirs remain light brown.
They are also smaller, and their heads are narrower.
I come across one while looking for food.
He growls at me. This is his territory.
I growl back, ears flat.
But he is smaller.
He grins
He arches his back
He curves himself,
crouching his legs and lashing his tail back and forth
His ears are pointed backwards, pressed against his skull.
I flick my ears, saying it's alright for him to leave.
He runs up the nearest tree-
something this body I have cannot do.
I leave.
* * * * *
Today dad took me to the park again and
we walked around the lake and
i threw a rock at the ugly ducks and
Dad sayd “why?” and
i sayd “becuz because theyre mean ducks” and
he told me “stop it” and i got mad and ran ahead and found good nice little ducks and
feeded them bread.
i found a secret path
But dad says its not secret because its paved and
Hikers and people go down it a lot.
Me and dad went on it and i saw
little rabbits that were brown and
little squirrels that were gray and
a big red fox.
i wanted to pet it
So i ran into the grass and chased it and dad chased after me and the fox ran away and dad carried me back to the trail
Like i was a baby
And we went back to the part of the park with the lake and
And that is what happened today.
* * * * *
Nobody sees me unless I want them to.
Nobody sees me unless I want them to.
NOBODY SEES ME UNLESS I WANT THEM TO.
So how did she do it?
That girl,
That human child--
How did she do it?
How?
* * * * *
Today at the park dad talked to a man with a camra kamra camera because he likes cameras too
And I got bored and went down the not-secret trail
And saw the fox again.
He looks just like the one on my notebook
Both are red and cute and he was a little foxy and I wanted to pet him
And he sat and didn’t run
And then it screamed.
Not a bark yelp or howl
a really loud scream-scream
like a person
and i sayd “whyd you make that noise?”
because it was so terrabel terrible.
And the fox grinned and showd off its teeth
And then it wuznt a fox
It was a boy.
He was pointy-
his eyes, his ears, his teeth
and his hair was fox-colored
i think he had a tail
And i sayd “you’re a boy!”
And he sayd “you can see me!”
“yeah,” i sayd
And he turned around
turned back to a fox
and ran away.
i told dad and he sayd “that’s nice honey”
and told me to write it down before I forgot
so i did.