Paddling,
   I witness what I'm sure is an otter,
       but turns out to be a squirrel
                 in a furious swim for survival.
While I ponder whether he was chased
   or chose to try and cross the lake,
              he suddenly leaps from the water
     onto the hull of my boat.
Screeching,
  I watch him skitter across, then skid back in
               and once again struggle towards shore,
         where scrabbling over rocks and through brush
he disappears into the woods,
   leaving me to wonder
          if what he left behind
                         was better or worse
                                       than what he's about to find.


© by Joan Kantor.
Used here with the author's permission.

Photo credit: Joan Kantor