Mourning My Husband - A Roadkill Poem by Phan Thanh gian

Yesterday your face was within my sight
Today, bits of your corpse spread on the roadside
Staring at this woeful scene I sob, wail and cry

O my goodness, it's so so hard!
I wept and hug our children, crawling in the dark
They asked for their father - it just broke my heart

Our brooding still young, needing care
I feel so helpless for their future welfare
For us poor groundhogs, life is truly unfair

Day and night you ran to and fro
Fetching meals so our newborns can grow
I tend to the little ones, you scavenge in tow

Watch out for bald eagles, black hawks
We dodged countless conniving red foxes
And barely scraped by with a few skinny frogs

I admit, our marriage was far from blissful
But some nights, the moon shone brightly, full
Husband and wife together, we shared gruel

Content in our hole, by this busy turnpike's din
A homestead, where we eke out menial living
This dreadful motorway is also your undoing

My dear, I never had a chance to say goodbye
Now your flesh, blood and fur splayed, sliced
On this dark roadway under the cold moonlight.