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My thanks to Gray for allowing me to include one of his poems on Balsamic Vignette.

You can find more of Gray's poems here.

Suburban Neighbors

March 2009 by Gray

A family of Hedgehogs
surround the house

stalks set in a trendy stance   
floppy hats
at fashionable slants

They eye the flimsy picket fence
They eye the succulents
from beyond

the flowerbed
a trough of violet pansies
daffodils, and daises

Even the patch of wild strawberries
seems unsafe insight

They circle as I sleep
my nap taken deep in the afternoon
inside
on top of the bed
dressed and made for the day
while outside
against a steep incline
the yard waits
full of broken lime stone
and chinaberry roots
to tangle the feet
of any who wake
to contemplate
a plan of escape

The hogs in their ring
appear to peer
uninterested

from under oak shadows
from under porch steps
from behind curtains of ferns
dusty against the grass

wary of invitations

until dinner

when I savor the company
of their nutty flavor in a golden garlic butter sauce
with a chardonnay in a large long stem glass