Rodent Dangerfield was
The Smartest Squirrel In The World
whose receding hareline gave him
the appearance of a Rodent Duval,
and his nut was the size of a tangerine—
the cognitive superiority it bestowed upon him
allowed him to work out the timing
required to cross a street in traffic,
the exact speed required to go safely
between the wheels of a passing car
thereby giving him a substantial edge
over the rest of his species,
and even a leg up against predators,
several carcasses of which
littered the roadsides.
Alas, even the smartest squirrel in the world
was reduced to roadkill by Mrs. Ralston
an eighty-nine year old widow
making a buttermilk run on RD’s street,
for Mrs. R is that lady in front of you
who taps on her brakes at any provocation
or motion caught her peripheral vision.