Shenanigans
I play the fox; what else do you expect in this
moony garden?
You stand, alone at the window, tall, white
as down,
staring out as if I was will-o’-the-wisp,
a green-eyed seducer
versed with pulpit words. Nightly I come to you
with a sermon of shoes:
brogues, balmorals, wingtips, winkle-pickers
trainers and loafers.
Trophies lifted from careless men, cradled in this
cunning grin,
laid out for review and match. I preach a choice,
silly goose.
Let each man claim his own, tie you tight as a lace.
But don’t be deceived
by any glib-tongued spiel. Test the snout, the brush,
the shining pelt of it –
my fox paws are real, make no mistake. The woods
call us: stay wild and free,
put on your dancing shoes, step out, trot a tricksy
measure with me.
Patrick Lodge was born in Wales, lives in Yorkshire and travels on an Irish passport. His poems have been published in several countries and anthologies as well as achieving success in competitions. Valley Press published his first collection, An Anniversary of Flight, in 2013.
Note: On June 5 2014 BBC Leeds news reported that a fox was stealing dozens of shoes in a Leeds suburb and dumping them outside a woman’s house every night. Shenanigans is thought to derive from the Irish, sionnachuighim, which means I play tricks or play the fox.