bold yet shy
you scurry around
how many times
had we stared at each other
each time you approach
a little bit closer
 

I’d hung my bird feeders
up on poles
yet you’d jump
and raid the seeds
the blue jay squawks
and sparrows gawk
as you scurry off
with the food
 

I’d given up on a
vegetable garden
you’d dig up every
new shoot
warm and furry
though mischievous
you burrow and tunnel
through my yard
I’d scolded you
more than once
and while the neighbors
say you are just a rat
I just saw you as cute
 

we speak different
languages you and i
I’m sure to you
I’m a freak of nature
curious eyes that
seem to watch
it’s funny though
as summer ground warms
what you had squirreled away
now were seedlings of new flowers
sprouting up in places around
 

today again I stare at you
and watch you twitch your tail
and while the neighbors
are baiting traps
and aiming guns
my yard is free
of squirrel poison
and I promise I
will not harm you