by PHILIP LARKIN
The mower stalled, twice; kneeling, I found
A hedgehog jammed up against the blades,
Killed. It had been in the long grass.
I had seen it before, and even fed it, once.
Now I had mauled its unobtrusive world
Unmendably. Burial was no help:
Next morning I got up and it did not.
The first day after a death, the new absence
Is always the same; we should be careful of each other, we should be kind
While there is still time.
Such events can crush the soul.
Lovely. Reminiscent of Robert Burns' "To a Mouse" but sharper and more contemporary. Thank you for sharing.