Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Before the Squirrels by Nick Allison

 

Chris F

Before the Squirrels

I was up before the squirrels this morning,

before the sun, too.

On the front porch, all is quiet,

the way early mornings tend to be.

In cupped hands I catch a moment

that refuses to be counted,

steady enough to cradle,

gentle enough to release

what isn’t mine to keep.

A butterfly teases a northwest breeze,

a tethered promise of flannel and fleece.

Its wings catch the first light,

red softening to orange,

black to something

more than gray.

I think again about numbers—

about days, months, years—

each lived alone,

each carrying its own weight,

boxed inside borders we draw.

From a distance they slip into a current,

slow at first,

then less so.

The first squirrel gives in to gravity,

drops, gathers

acorns meant for the earth,

then retreats into late-summer leaves,

off to do whatever squirrels do.

© Nick Allison 

Enjoy other posts by Nick Allison HERE.

Nick Allison

Nick Allison is a writer based in Austin, Texas. His poems and essays have appeared in HuffPost, The Shore, CounterPunch, Mobius: The Journal of Social Change, The Chaos Section, Eunoia Review, and elsewhere, as well as on his personal site, The Truth About Tigers. He recently edited the anthology Record of Dissent: Poems of Protest in an Authoritarian Age (TCS Press, 2025). Social: @nickallison80.bsky.social

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