Possum at Twilight

By John I. Blair

It stood there
Outlined black
Against the pale
Concrete bike path.

Barely visible
A rat-like tail
Stuck out behind
Reassuring me
This was not a skunk.

I stopped,
Froze on the spot,
Laughed part from joy
At the sighting,
Part from relief
That I would need
No tomato bath.

A silent communion?

Well, I had kind thoughts.

What passed between
The possum’s ears,
(If anything)
Probably wouldn’t
Bear repeating
In a family publication.

©2005 John I. Blair