A New Apocalypse
Yes, part of my "West Virginia Sequence." I offer this apocalyptic view of the world:
Apocalypse of the FoxesFirst time I saw a triangle head and
an orange-red body and long tail, I thought
a frightened animal had, in the dark run
and found in a jump the razor wire. Caught
by its neck, the fox hung there paws aloft
sharing with all its surprise at the end
it had found.
But another had been dropped
nearby, and further on my heart began
to dread some lemming plague that felled a field
of foxes, killing them one fearful night,
a vengeful divine hand had closed and sealed
the fate of all their world.
I asked what might
have been the cause of all this death, and heard
a woman close by say, "It's the farmer's
way out here. Kill them and leave them to scare
off others."
"And does it work?" I asked her,
looking once again. She shrugged and then stared
into the distance saying, "I'd say not."
Tracing her gaze, I saw half a dozen
foxes in a troupe through thigh-high fields trot
away into hidden brush, a fat hen
grasped tightly in the jaws on one of them.© 2002 Steven Riddle
