there was a fox
who lived in our old neighborhood
(in Madison, Wisconsin)
and even though we never saw it in our own backyard,
our neighbors informed us it was often there
and Kip would gasp
every evening
into the darkness
and whisper
“The Fox!”

here in this neighborhood
of The Bronx
there are two skunks
roaming the sidewalks,
rooting around for food
in our zen garden of a backyard,
burrowing in the bushes
near the front,
and though i was the only one to see one of them
hiding
in the hostas,
if i don’t shine a light down the alleyway
Kip will gasp
into the darkness
and whisper
“The Skunk!”

and that is how
“The Skunk!”
became the new
“The Fox!”