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 

Nick Allison

Nick Allison is a writer based in Austin, Texas. His poems and essays have appeared in HuffPostThe ShoreCounterPunchMobius: The Journal of Social ChangeThe Chaos SectionEunoia 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 Press2025). Social: @nickallison80.bsky.social

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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 e...