Poem of the Week

Hedgehog

By Paul Muldoon

The snail moves like a
Hovercraft, held up by a
Rubber cushion of itself,
Sharing its secret

With the hedgehog. The hedgehog
Shares its secret with no one.
We say, Hedgehog, come out
Of yourself and we will love you.

We mean no harm. We want
Only to listen to what
You have to say. We want
Your answers to our questions.

The hedgehog gives nothing
Away, keeping itself to itself.
We wonder what a hedgehog
Has to hide, why it so distrusts.

We forget the god
under this crown of thorns.
We forget that never again
will a god trust in the world.

***

I don't think you have to be Christian to grasp the effectiveness of Christian imagery - although I'm sure the impact is more profound if you are. Paul Muldoon equates nature with godliness, both forces that mankind has historically betrayed. He equates the "otherness" of natural forces to a divinity that we long to comprehend but have cut ourselves off from understanding. Impressive stuff.

And, on a completely unrelated note: