A reformed photographer born in Wichita Falls TX, Nathaniel S Rounds writes from Halifax, Nova Scotia.

567903ASDW
By Nathaniel S Rounds

I painted a portrait of an angry squirrel on pastry cloth
And stretched it over a tepee frame
Which I stationed in my neighbour Anne’s backyard
And mounted a telescope at the top
So Anne and I could eat honey and strawberry sandwiches
And follow the stars.

We call it our aurora sky station and
We keep a legal notebook with the nightly observations
And various sketches in crayon
Which we intend to donate to hide under sofa cushions
At Value Village so that some kid will be sitting on this old sofa
His parents bought for twenty-eight dollars
On account of the hole in the back and shout,
“Hey Mom! Look at these astrological coordinates!”
And then our infamy will be secure.
Both Anne and I feel resentment
Regarding the way that Marge the checkout lady at Save Easy
Treats us and she gets all nasty and everything
When we come in with coupons
And so we call her the angry squirrel.
So that’s why we turned her into a mascot,
And tried to make her something that fits in somehow.
Someday when she isn’t angry we will whisper in her ear
About the aurora sky station

And ask her to come home with us
So that she can help with the cocoa,
Which you need to keep warm when watching the stars in winter.
She can be Angry Squirrel, Director of Warmth.
Her secret ID will be 567903ASDW.
I wrote it on my tube socks with a laundry marker so I wouldn’t forget.