[RCL]

Nature Mirrors Man

After Thoreau in “Wild Apples”

Out foraging for apples, windfalls
crabbed and chilled by early frost,
he packs pants pockets with the fruit
and then, when on a saunter home,
he eats from one side, then the other,
by this rotation keeps his balance.

He recalls when nearly home:
a hunting hedgehog rolls over apples,
sticking fruit with its sharp quills,
but if one falls, it shakes off all
to roll again, regaining balance,
before returning to the nest.