Possum Crossing Poem by Nikki Giovanni

Possum Crossing

Rating: 4.5


Backing out the driveway
the car lights cast an eerie glow
in the morning fog centering
on movement in the rain slick street

Hitting brakes I anticipate a squirrel or a cat or sometimes
a little raccoon
I once braked for a blind little mole who try though he did
could not escape the cat toying with his life
Mother-to-be possum occasionally lopes home . . . being
naturally . . . slow her condition makes her even more ginger

We need a sign POSSUM CROSSING to warn coffee-gurgling neighbors:
we share the streets with more than trucks and vans and
railroad crossings

All birds being the living kin of dinosaurs
think themselves invincible and pay no heed
to the rolling wheels while they dine
on an unlucky rabbit

I hit brakes for the flutter of the lights hoping it's not a deer
or a skunk or a groundhog
coffee splashes over the cup which I quickly put away from me
and into the empty passenger seat
I look . . .
relieved and exasperated ...
to discover I have just missed a big wet leaf
struggling . . . to lift itself into the wind
and live

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Ninja 12 March 2019

Be careful, possums have ligma

4 1 Reply
Jeanie Aloia 29 January 2018

I was excited to see a poem about the opossum, I have crossed path with an opossum twice this winter, and I only had to live to 63 to have my first opossum encounter. Incredible encounter too!

2 2 Reply
Susan Williams 28 April 2017

A simple story becomes extremely memorable with its images and thoughts- I love it.

3 3 Reply
READ THIS POEM IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Nikki Giovanni

Nikki Giovanni

Knoxville, Tennessee
Close
Error Success