.
At this point, having tried to collect my thoughts but not finding enough time to organize them,, I'm so late that all I can do is cheer the poem on. It's a squirrelly delight. I am there at the end of the bar, defeated, having been baffled by their ingenuity, their tenacity, their exasperating determination.

Notes

• I'll admit that my initial reading missed the point. I kept searching for something more tragic, more significant. So imagine my surprise upon further readings when the poem revealed itself as being a two-headed metaphor. (Squirrels are a fascinating.)
  
• The poem is something of a Trojan horse. I laughed with glee at Nemo’s visceral squirrel-like reaction to the poem (#2). He sensed the skittish movement of the phrasing and felt the heaviness of the metaphor. He saw the poem within a poem. Crack it open and you get another. Two for one.
  
• I love how the patrons that populate the bar resemble a crowd that Charles Bukowski or Tom Waits would feel at home with.
  
• Did you know that squirrels are accidental tree planters? There’s research/evidence that squirrels can’t find the majority of the nuts they bury. As a result, those nuts that remain unfound grow into trees. That’s good for the birds.

Skillful squirrel-like language. The poem is a prize!

.

Can't ask for more than that. Thanks very much Jim.

RG.

Enjoyed your poem very much, Richard. It reminds me of "Good Omens" for some reason, perhaps the underlying comedy in the battle of good and evil. Though I like the title "The Knight and Drey" I do wonder if a different title would increase the pleasure of the poem. Perhaps "Squirrel Wars at the Knight and Drey."

Hi Mary.

Perhaps "Squirrel Wars at the Knight and Drey."
That may promise a bit more than the poem delivers, but I'll see what else lies in that direction.

Many thanks.

RG.