Here’s a poem about rabbits (kind of)…
Twilight
At civic twilight the shadows deepen
Cottontail quivers in her hide
Fear is filtered by soft moonlight
Night frosts begin their slow descent
Faraway haunting calls of old
The ghost of Darwin, frozen in time
Awaiting distraction, a river of mist
Godspeed, dash, and outrun your past
Behold a friend, in numbers huddle
Noses touching with rapid breath
Rest through the night, in hollow’s safety
Gentle warmth at sun’s first rays
Daybreak holds a promise of more
Bigwig’s strength and Hazel’s dreams
Across the fields, to greener worlds
Fresh clover nourishes the deepening soul
Embrace this wonder of nature’s potential
Full of barnacles, beetles, orchids and pigeons
Never in harmony but unconstrained
Beautiful mutants on this razor’s edge.
The cottontail waits, feels the earth’s gentle spin
Eat, grow and cry; live, flee, and die
Orion’s slow journey, life tender and tough
A fleeting harmony – it is enough.
I’ve been obsessed with rabbits of late, and over a series of weekends I did the art (above), “Ten Rabbits” in ballpoint pen (large format). Rabbits are so clever, wise, fast when needed, otherwise patient, listening, waiting. I think of them often, and am thankful to see them most days -often at daybreak when I head to the train, or at twilight on my way back home. Often waiting quietly under a hedge. The poem, above, was written last year, for a poetry reading I did in Montreal in November. Not Haiku, but I feel rabbits, and their meaning, perhaps deserve something more.
© Christopher M Buddle 2026
Nature's Reverie 