THE RACCOON TREE
Winter to winter
we never quite knew
where it was,
and so would have to
find it again,
part of me doubting it
had ever existed.
But then there
it would be,
still with the dark
slit in its side,
darker if the ground
around was aglow
with snow.
We’d take turns
peering in, seeing
nothing but darkness
until our eyes adjusted.
Then would appear
a pair of green eyes,
then the telltale
mask and ringed tail,
this creature that
every winter hid
in fear of us boys
who came without fail
to fill its world
with breath and darkness.
Winter to winter
we never quite knew
where it was,
and so would have to
find it again,
part of me doubting it
had ever existed.
But then there
it would be,
still with the dark
slit in its side,
darker if the ground
around was aglow
with snow.
We’d take turns
peering in, seeing
nothing but darkness
until our eyes adjusted.
Then would appear
a pair of green eyes,
then the telltale
mask and ringed tail,
this creature that
every winter hid
in fear of us boys
who came without fail
to fill its world
with breath and darkness.