From a North American Field Guide Bought for a Birthday, Never Given: Rodentia
We didn't talk frequently of porcupine tracks
in snow or the ill-defined dentine pools
of deer mice. Were we common
or round-tailed or American? Hoary
or silvery? We don't talk at all
now, but I could tell you the most primitive
living rodent in North America can stomach
rhododendron, and it even plans
for the future, drying plants for winter.
Can I answer all of your questions
with questions? Is loss grizzled brown
or yellow-bellied and does it come out
from underground to sun? There are 23 species
of voles in our country and together
we have spotted none of them. Tell me
something smooth like silky pocket mouse
sifting sand for seeds, climbing stalks
to harvest greens. To understand loss, I must
understand the Texas prairie dog town
that once covered 25,000 square miles, housed
400 million animals. I must understand how acres
of tunnels refill. Or tell me how small
are the ball-shaped nests constructed
by our smallest mouse, tell me
how softly do they roll.
---Emma DePanise
---found in Permafrost Magazine (Issue 43.2; 2023)