A poem by Pam Lange

excerpted from RED BOOTS & ATTITUDE

THE WILDING

Outside the bedroom door,

possum clings to limestone,

slender tale heading west,

long nose pointing south.

A commotion of bassets

attacks the glass,

baying, barking, keening.

Harmonies of outrage

shatter the morning.

Possum slides, hugs the wall,

makes her way to a narrow tree.

Climbing slowly, she finds the top.

Settling down, she contains herself,

hangs quiet, dark eyes focused inward.