Reminder
The pregnant squirrel
has eaten her fill
of sunflower seeds
meant for the birds;
she rests in the shade,
stretched out on the lowest
of my back steps while
sparrows and finches return
to what’s left in the feeder.
I remember that hunger,
open the door to offer her
peanuts, but she’s startled
and leaps away, wild reminder
of what we can and can’t share.
Martha Christina lives in Bristol, RI, where she often visits the Coggeshall Farm Museum. She is a frequent contributor to Red Eft Review, and her work has also appeared in earlier issues of Star 82 Review, Crab Orchard Review, and the Tiny Seed Pollinator Project, among others.
See more of her work in 9.3 and 9.3 and 9.2 and 9.2 and 8.2 and 8.2 and 7.4 and 7.3 and 7.2 and 6.3 and 6.3 again