Badger Watching Poem by Francis Duggan

I still recall how I often watched the badgers
From low branch of tree as lamp of day did die
In their mouths from their sett they brought out last night's bedding
For to replace it with long grass clean and dry.

Downwind of them I watched in intense silence
As to and from their sett they hurried to and fro
That memory undimmed by time still with me
Though on looking back the decades that now seems long ago.

The greyness of their faces I remember
Quite prominent in the fading light of day
I often spent a pleasant half an hour or more of badger watching
Though that was years ago and far away.

Perhaps for their size the world's greatest fighters
It brings to mind a great poem by John Clare
When he told of human cruelty to the badger
These creatures now considered to be rare.

At twilight before they go on their food search
They always change their bedding for the night
A thing I do feel privileged to have witnessed
And that remains with me as a memorable sight.

I still recall those Spring and Summer twilights
That I watched the badgers cleaning out their sett
Cock robin piped his good night on the birch tree
Such good memories will remain with me till death.