so they are silent in the oak tree,
where the swing used to be,
before I had to cut it down for a hurricane.
walking the back bushes last week,
I stumbled across the fresh carcass
of a small bunny rabbit, and I hoped
it wasn't the one I saw from the porch.
technically, it was in the neighbor's backyard,
but since we don't have fences,
and the HOA makes up new rules all the time,
I felt the need to do something, but what?
I could scoop it up with the shovel,
give it a proper burial,
but then I would be that lonely neighbor
digging a bunny grave in someone else's backyard.
deciding to leave it there, for the time being,
the next morning it was gone,
just a streak of blood from bushes to bushes,
probably a coyote or other scavenger.
the whole scene made me sad,
and I couldn't tell my daughter
that the bunny we see in the mornings
is no longer, because that would break her heart.
it's my job to make sure
her little heart never gets broken,
so I went to the pet store, bought a bunny,
and put it on the porch for a morning surprise.