The Race

1

The man keeps a fox

in his freezer. The fox

is wrapped in a plastic

bag, which is wrapped

in another plastic bag,

which is neatly knotted

at the top. The fox

is small and rests

between a TV

dinner and a gallon

of mint ice cream.

Each night, the man

removes the bag

from his freezer,

unties the knot,

and lays the fox down

on his living room floor.

The man, crouching

over the fox, examines

its fur, inspects its

paws and its teeth.

After some time,

he folds the fox

into the bags,

and places it back

inside the freezer.

2

After the man has retired to bed,

Fox opens his eyes, lifts up his cold head,

crawls out of the bags and creeps 'cross the floor.

He knows the man sleeps -- he hears the man snore.

Fox sits for hours, fixed on Man's breath,

watching for changes, smelling for death.

And with the first signs of light, Fox slinks away,

back to his place beneath the ice tray.

The strange race continues just how it began:

the man and the fox and the fox and the man.