Today is “Poem in Your Pocket Day,” so I thought it would be a perfect time to share one of my own poems with you. This little free verse poem is a reprint. It was first published in the Poetry Society of Texas’s 2012 prize anthology A Book of the Year for winning the Derry Tutt Memorial Award. Enjoy!
The Fox Pup of Big Blue Mountain
He was broken when we found him—
not quite wild,
in spite of being surrounded by wilderness—
limping around with his tail down
in pain or shame.
We nursed him like our own,
patiently accepting his mistrust
as we pulled splinters and shards
of broken glass from his soft paws.
He stayed then, for a while,
watching us from watery eyes
until we left…
him whole—and not quite wild.
© Annie Neugebauer, 2012.
All rights reserved.
