Opossum

                                                                                     Algonquian for "white beast"

                                                                                     your prehensile tail startles me

                                                                                     as I snap on the porch light

                                                                                     to take my dogs out in the snow.

                                                                                    Chomping kibble from the cat bowl

                                                                                    fifty sharp teeth tucked behind

                                                                                    a pink pointed snout, wary

                                                                                   you turn your head to look at me.

                                                                                   You are a leftover from an

                                                                                   ancient time pouched one.

                                                                                   Still I have felt hunger too,

                                                                                   evolution has not changed that.

                                                                                  Our eyes hold for a quiet cryptozoic

                                                                                  moment, then you return to your dinner.

                                                                                  I tell the disappointed dogs we’ll go out later,

                                                                                  and close the door on the Paleolithic night.