* Squirrel-in-the-Box Haikus *

Kitschy unicorn
of Rilke’s! Blond girl in the
alley, shrieking: “There’s

a squirrel in there! I’m
scared!” “A squirrel in that big blue
compost bin? Don’t you

want to let him out?”
Approaching and lifting the
lid. “I feel sorry

for the squirrel,” I said.
Two seconds later, squirrel three
feet above the bin

lip, scaling the lap
siding. “He really shot out
of there, didn’t he?”

I laughed, but the girl
didn’t reciprocate. I
think she was relieved—

trapped squirrel restored to
liberty—but I can’t be 
absolutely sure.