Autumn Fox
Hunt.
Fire-rimmed tail
leaping from the underbrush, waving:
a flag for autumn sun.
Nose at a point to ground, tracing.
Trace
scent of blood
oozing from bite marks in rabbit’s back.
It mats into the fur,
a mess removed with jaw’s soaking.
Soak
past canines;
crunching down the black-rimmed throat and mouth,
sweet marrow saved for last.
Trickster – belly full – leaves, licking.
Lick
charcoal paws;
gleaming like bones, white underbelly
lapped afresh in moonlight.
Clean as the kill under night’s sun.
Heather Brown