Rustic doggerel:
The skunk came to call on the possum one night.
The possum snarled, "Do you want to fight?"
The skunk did what his kind generally do,
So the cats and I knew about this, too.
The skunk knew the air smelled rank and fierce,
So it thought best to make itself scarce.
The possum retreated into the cellar
Where we all still continue to smell her.
The skunk retreated further away
Lest any might know how to make it pay.
O skunk, you will never take our Pepe's place,
Even if you had Hepzibah's pretty face.
Our Pepe was far too cool and too wise
A possum or cat to antagonize.
Our Hepzibah had brains as well as looks;
Nicer skunks are not found, even in books.
You, skunk in hiding for fear of blame,
Can hardly be said to deserve a name.
Even so, you are welcome because you can eat.
Things that no other creature considers a treat.
Here are European Hornets, badly misplaced.
You may eat all you want,; we admire your taste.
If any of you Gentle Readers have the mixed blessing of a skunk living on your property, please consider why it wants to be there. Skunks eat ground-nesting wasps. Poison sprays do not get rid of ground-nesting wasps. Skunks do.
Hooray for Hepzibah, and the eradication of the wasps! Lovely story, and your 'doggerel' has some admirable rhymes.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteInteresting to learn about skunks and wasps! I had to look up Hepzibah and ended up reading more on that!! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! Yes, the famous cartoon Hepzibah Skunk is fun to read about.
DeleteVery interesting, I learned!! I didn't know that skunks eat mud wasps.
ReplyDeleteWe had skunks on the farm. When I was young, playing down in our "ditch" playing in an junked Buick car, I noticed my dog digging fiercely a little way up the bank. All of a sudden the dog yelped like he was hurt and ran up on the grass and started rolling in basically one place. He was also gagging continuously . He smelled terrible with a strong skunk odor. We took him into town in the hog trailer to the vet. The vet got him calmed down and washed good but he still smelled skunky for a long time.
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Yes. I'd imagine that being "skunked" is as horrible for a dog as being temporarily blinded or deafened is to us, because scent seems to be their dominant sense.
DeleteI didn't know that about skunks and wasps. We can find the odd skunk around the trash in the warmer months, and we just stay out of their way. I wonder if we have any wasps...
ReplyDeleteI will look kindly upon skunks from now on. I enjoyed your poem. The images reminded me of Disney’s short films on wildlife from my kid days.
ReplyDeleteI grew up with those images too, so they probably shape my interpretations of animal behavior...
DeleteWe do not have skunks here but i do have encounters with feral dogs, monitor lizards, and snakes. That's an interesting poem about a skunk. :)
ReplyDelete