I Want to Become
a weasel, in a sleeky, twisty body,
all eyes and teeth like a deadly zip.
I would have become a badger
in preference, but they have been having
a bad time around here, through no fault
of their own, shot for being badgers.
So weasel it is, like the family I saw
crossing the road once, mother and three kits
all squeaking to stay in touch, to follow
like a tiny school crocodile – much more like
one than children, scurrying along thin
mouse paths, noses at the ready – mustelids all.
Simon Williams has been writing since his teens, when he was mentored at university by Roger McGough. He has ten collections, the latest being The Pickers and Other Tales (www.simonwilliams), from Vole, published March 2024. Simon was elected The Bard of Exeter in 2013, founded the large-format magazine, The Broadsheet and published the PLAY anthology in 2018.