The Fox's Child

The fox had a child

But the child had no idea

That the fox was still a fox

And would make fox mistakes

Just like any fox would

The child didn’t understand

Why the fox did fox things

Instead of human things

And even when the child

Turned into a boy

And then a teenage boy

And then a man

It still resented the fox

For its fox-like behavior

When the child was in middle school

The fox showed up to the school dance

And instead of standing in the back

With the other chaperoning parents

The fox ate most of the refreshments

On the refreshment table

And then defecated in the middle

Of the dance floor

Agatha Forthright tried to be sympathetic

Because her mother is a mongoose

But Agatha had the good sense

To keep her mother in a small cage

Lovingly decorated

And so shenanigans never took place

When Agatha’s mother was around

Although surely they would

Were it not for the cage

The boy’s fox/mother tried to point out
The difference between a caged animal

And one left to its own devices

But the boy wouldn’t hear of it

He was repulsed by the actions

Of his legal guardian

And thought about demanding emancipation

When their home in the woods

Was destroyed by deforestation

The fox had to move in

With her now adult human son

And the arrangement was not beloved

By the son or his wife

Or his two children

The fox often ripped up couch cushions

And tried eating the family cat

The fox took umbrage at her son

Even having a cat

Since he was so put off by her

How was she any worse than an animal

Who coughed up her own fur

And brought dead mice into the house?

The man didn’t argue with his mother

Because the truth is

He didn’t care for the cat very much

But his wife had grown up with a cat

And she wanted their children

To grow up with one as well

And so there was a cat

And now there was a fox

But the difference was

The cat was a pet and could be treated as such

Whereas his mother demanded

That she be treated like what she was

A mother

And that meant putting up with activities

Nobody wanted to put up with

Least of all the man

One day the man took his fox/mother

Into the backyard

And tried to lay down the law

This was after she had sneakily torn open

A bag of potato chips

And left the detritus all over

The bathroom

‘Mother,’ the man said

As the fox chewed on a vole

‘This simply isn’t going to work’

He explained to her

That he had found an adorable

Little petting zoo

Only a few miles away

And that he planned to move her there

Where he would visit at least once a week

On his way home from work

And that she would be very happy

Because she would be able to act like a fox

And not like a human

Or even a cat

And that people there would take care of her

While still allowing her to give into

Her natural instincts

As a response to this

The fox felt a deep, piercing pain

And without thinking about it

Ran into the miserable acre of swampland

Behind the man’s house

She heard her son calling out to her

But she was determined not to wind up

As some kind of oddity in a cage

The way poor Lydia Forthright had been

The fox made it to the edge of the swamp

And then sat down on her haunches

While a frog hopped past her

Clearly not aware of what foxes are

Or that one should not simply

Hop by them

If one values one’s life

But the fox had no urge to kill

Or even survive

She only wanted to sit for a bit

And think about what was next

Which was a very difficult thing to do

Considering how much had come

Before