‘Black Rabbit’ is a poem inspired by times of change and thoughts of Richard Adams’ ‘Watership Down’. When my husband and I lived on the outskirts of Curraghmore Estate in Portlaw, County Waterford, wildlife was a part of every day. I remember two hares prancing across our front lawn, two industrious mistle thrushes building a nest, two baby rabbits hiding under our shed, and one glorious pine marten. Every summer, swallows would nest in the roof and we watched them grow and fly.

The Black Rabbit was a character we encountered on the road from Portlaw to Kilmacthomas. A solitary figure, and one that we only glimpsed in motion, we sometimes wondered if we had truly seen this creature, or if he was just a shadow.

Looking back, this was a time that preceded some major changes to our lifestyle. Months after our last sighting of the black rabbit, I became pregnant, my husband started a new job and a longed for home of our own was taking shape. Nature can be a powerful messenger.

Black Rabbit

A Poem for Easter

I remember the black rabbit
sat on a throne of hill,
the gold-specked, green

slide down to the road,
where we stopped cars
to wait for his shadow.

He loomed on the day,
glowered just short
of marking our tracks
for animal life.

I wanted to join him,
dye my hair in a shade
that matched his gleaming fur,
feel him change me.

K. S. Moore

Photo by thor_mark  on Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA