Hold the live, squirming thing in cupped hands,
bony vertebrate back flips into a ramrod-straight wand,
or a droopy tail that wraps like a languid snake,
and trembles as you inspect the make,
of this downy prickle of fur,
that someone brought in to work,
along with squirrel formula and stories of hurt,
and entrapment from crevices in rooftops filled with dirt.
This wild forager now used to human touch,
when released, will it amount to much?
