Animal poems - Squirrel

NOTE: This page is a daughter page of: Animal poems

Squirrel

     ... agile, playful, resourceful

Bright eyed and bushy tailed, you don’t just live. You thrive.
Members of your family spread through canopies to almost every corner of the globe.
Tree squirrels, ground squirrels, flying squirrels.
Playful acrobats in the trees, the rocks and the air.

I peer through my apartment lounge room window into the trees.
A lovely koy pond and shared urban garden with mixed deciduous and conifers,
A far cry from the rural second home in Australia with acres of eucalyptus fronting onto rain-forest, and yet what keeps me sane and tied to nature in my new home is this little patch of trees around water,
What keeps me sane is this little playful animal that runs over my apartment balcony and over the lawns.

There are dozens of them, black and gray. I feel like the same ones follow me wherever I travel.
All squirrels share the same spirit.
They rummage on the ground and they leap gracefully between trees, even between the magnificent pine forests in the mountains.
They dart across the canopy along their tree highways, eager to find new treasure.

To get close to any squirrel is a pleasure and an honor,
In the wild they are timid, but to see one close is pure delight.
Adorable little face, soft silky fur and adorable little nose. I just want to squeeze your cheeks.
Sitting upright, with tiny little hands manipulating pieces of food as they chew. Cuter than a button.

Some see them a hyperactive creature, always alert.
Yet I see playfulness. And like all creatures, there is a gentle side.
A litter of three young squirrels poke their precious heads from a hole or a nest, in wait of mother.
When mother returns she nestles up to them for sleep.

What a resourceful little creature, forever busy collecting for the cold winters.
Be careful to hide your prize possessions little squirrel. You don’t want everyone to see your nuts do you?
Somehow this little rodent is able to survive and thrive off hard acorns and other plant matter.
The squirrel knows the forest like the back of its tiny hands, and keeps in its mind a spatial map of hidden treasures as if a furry little arboreal pirate.

This agile little rodent makes me grounded. Forever busy, but I seek out those little moments where a squirrel comes close.
Perhaps the squirrel is curious, or perhaps in want of food. Either way I love the idea that I could hold a little squirrel in my hands one day and call it pet.

Some might call me crazy, but imagine having a squirrel as a forever friend, running over your back and through your house.
If only I could turn my indoors into outdoors, and see the squirrels roam and chase each other around my apartment.
A sign surely, that we should all live less inside, and live more outside with the trees, so that the playground of the squirrel becomes the place we call home.
They are so common and widespread, and yet I love this little creature, not only because of a cuteness which makes me smile, but the comfort it brings, and the lessons it promises to teach.

            -- by Andrew Noske

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About this Poem... Animal: Squirrel Description/motivation: I love squirrels! After moving to the bay area I dressed as a squirrel for Halloween two years in a row. The outfit was amazing - I was a 6 foot 4 squirrel with a huge phalic inflatable tail (making me at least another foot taller) and two big detachable nuts with Velcro to stick anywhere. I love that outfit. But back to actual squirrels. I'm still fascinated by these little creatures... there are really only two places on earth they don't exist: Antarctica and Australia. So growing I never really saw any, but I live in America now and they really are everywhere here! I love how adorable they are, how agile and how resourceful. I dedicate this poem to the incredibly lovely Megan Keely (visit facebook music page) - the first person I know who identified squirrel as her spirit animal. Her demeanor is warm and gentle, which appears the opposite of the hyperactive squirrel, and yet there's many other ways she relates to squirrels. Maybe we all identify a little to squirrels. :) Oh, a side note on this poem, I'm proud of myself for not trying to fill it with facts! I've done that in my last couple of poems - I like the idea of education, but it ruins the poem itself. Here's some quick fun facts though: Squirrels are just about everywhere except Antarctica and Australia. No, squirrels do not carry rabies (read article)! There are 285 species of squirrel. There are 5 subfamilies, but generally all squirrels fall into one of: tree squirrels, ground squirrels or flying squirrels. This is one in a serious of poems I've written about various animals. The motivation, is that I love the idea of spirit animals, and I decided, one day, to ask many of my friend what animal they think best represents their personality. In some cases the poems are written with the person in mind... and sometimes it's purely about the animal. Read more about my process here. If you love this poem or want another written please e-mail me at . :-)