The inspiration for this poem was a seed pod I found in Kirstenbosch Gardens last winter. To me it looked exactly like a little hedgehog - and the inspiration for this poem flowed from there.
Farthing Wood
Quilled hirsuteness,
hard, spiky, brown.
Solitary, nocturnal, pin cushion
barbed ball at sudden sound.
Hedge-grown, cartilaginous rodent,
bashful, and bowed:
soft, silken centre,
Nature’s mohawk, avowed!
Kirsten Fernandes
[c] 2008, all rights reserved.
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