Poetry: COCOON

A rat had become
roadkill not 20 feet
from where she lay
two cardboard panels
one above
one underneath
a cocoon for her from
the steady whizz
of cars up and down the
hill
She was almost perfectly
still
Closed eyes shielding passersby
from the life
and death strugglewithin
her
the faintest
nib of self preservation desperately
fending off
addiction's ravaging
hordes
air deftly navigating
the passages of her
skeltal
body holding form for
the moment but
not likely durable
enough to avoid going
splat
unflinching sun
above
cold concrete
beneath