Spike the Hedgehog
Spike the hedgehog gazed across
the tarmac river of death,
where Harriet sat upon the grass
and held a shallow breath.
She was his only boyhood sweetheart,
until a cruel fate
drove the lovers far apart -
their joys would have to wait.
Into the black stepped brave young Spike:
he knew he had to risk it,
no matter that he might end up
a bristle-coated biscuit.
For death beneath those screaming wheels,
from which our hero darted,
were still a better fate than life
among the broken-hearted.
Then suddenly the wheels stopped turning -
the metal torrent fell
silent, as the sun's gold disk
turned as black as hell.
So the moon bestowed its gift -
a darkness bright with hope
for the long-awaited chance
our lovers might elope.
Spike swiftly ran, impelled by joy,
towards his true desire
and soon he reached that grassy shore -
within his breast a fire
so strong he leapt and carved an arc
of freedom in the sky,
as if towards some rainbow's end
which fate dare not deny.
But Harriet was gripped with fear
at the veiling of the sun:
she curled herself into a ball -
poor Spike was thus undone.
When reunited with his love
at gravity's insistence,
his soft and tender belly flesh
could offer no resistance
as a cruel needle pierced
his tiny hedgehog heart.
The sun returned in time to see
Spike's noble soul depart.
Poor Harriet was left to rue
her instinct for survival,
for which her sad beloved Spike
was spiked upon arrival.
This tragic end aside, I hope
a moral lesson sticks:
one must not fear to love - despite
inevitable pricks.
YOU ARE READING
One Day the Sun: A Collection
PoetryA collection of poems entered for the Attys awards, 2012. The judges were kind enough to shortlist this work and I thank them for that recognition. Biggest thanks, however, go to you, dear reader.
