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| Alpha (Left) and Omega (Right), London 2020 |
You and your sister, sitting like bookends
At the top of the garden steps.
Us, at the bottom, throwing
Chicken strip, mini-burger, liver biscuit
And then – the jam sandwich – presented.
You’d sit down, eyes thinning to a slit.
A moment of meditation before the second arrived
And Paradise fell into your mouth.
A moment of meditation before the second arrived
And Paradise fell into your mouth.
Foxes.
Born into our garden amid a pandemic spring.
Accepting of the new world, whilst we could barely stand.
We named you, Alpha and Omega,
In respect of your wildness,
Your status in the earth.
A menace others called you.
We took a breath as you approached
Accepting of the new world, whilst we could barely stand.
We named you, Alpha and Omega,
In respect of your wildness,
Your status in the earth.
A menace others called you.
We took a breath as you approached
Mange-stricken, injury-ridden, motherless.
And so our routine began – chicken strip,
Mini-burger, liver biscuit and a jam sandwich
Sprinkled with magic dust to heal.
This spring, you’re all grown up.
Teenagers who know how to catch.
Playing together, risking it all on the
The trajectory of sliced bread.
Mini-burger, liver biscuit and a jam sandwich
Sprinkled with magic dust to heal.
This spring, you’re all grown up.
Teenagers who know how to catch.
Playing together, risking it all on the
The trajectory of sliced bread.
As teeth meets jam, you run with ears pinned back
Towards your shrub where plate sized leaves
Swish into place - a seal to this most
Sacred of moments where jam oblates
And taste awaits...
This morning, there was no time for play.
On the top step curled in a ball was Alpha.
On the top step curled in a ball was Alpha.
Whilst you, Omega, were four doors up
Lying motionless on a roadside verge.
Us.
Finding you.
Wrapping you.
Carrying you back.
Chicken strip, mini-burger, liver biscuit -
And the last jam sandwich.
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For Omega
A garden fox, whose joy of food we still miss.
March 2020 - June 2021
If there is a fox that you would like to heal, or you would like to support the work of Fox Charities:
SUPPORT: The Fox Project Wildlife Hospital Appeal - who provide advice for the care and management of foxes and offer a rehabilitation service and fox ambulance service. Or the National Fox Welfare Society (NFWS) who provide free mange treatment across the UK.
HEAL: In our experience, if the fox's coat is less than 40% affected by mange, we recommend the homoeopathic mange treatment that is free from the NFWS and takes around 6 weeks to heal. Or the Fox Project's treatments for mange, injury or infection which takes 5 days to heal and is £10 per treatment. If the fox has more than 40% mange, we found it best to call either the Fox Project or the NFWS for advice.