Charlie’s Story

Before your hands,
there was echo chamber waiting.
Fluorescent questions.
A thousand eyes looking in,
none staying.

What is time
to the untethered?
A bowl always full,
yet hunger persists.
The scent of elsewhere
on strange shoes.

Then —
my body recognizes salvation
before my mind catches up.
Tail semaphoring joy,
an ancient message:
I know what you are.
I know what I was.

Did you think I couldn’t tell?
Your hands speak the language
of second chances.
I am well-versed in the grammar
of almost-too-late.

Now I dial my happiness
up to eleven,
earthquake-wag my certainty
that miracles wear sneakers,
carry car keys,
know exactly
which chin-scratch undoes
the memory of before.

I am your yes-yes-yes,
your what-took-you-so-long.
Every day I crown you
my choice-maker,
my after-all.

This eager body knows
what it has escaped.
That’s why the leaping.
That’s why the face-kisses.
That’s why everything
is better than bacon
when it comes from your hands.

Ferrets, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. I have come to tell you about one of ancient Rome’s most surprising pets: ferrets, whose small size and playful nature belie their fierce hunting abilities. These wily weasels were primarily kept to hunt rabbits and keep pest populations under control, including by soldiers. As the Roman Empire expanded, so too did the humble ferret’s range. According to the Roman historians Pliny and Strabo, around 6 BCE, Emperor Augustus sent γαλέη — a Greek word believed to have been referring to ferrets, though it also could have meant mongooses or polecats — to the Balearic Islands in modern-day Spain to control their plague of rabbits.

Though certainly not as common as cats and dogs, ferrets remain popular pets today. They’re beloved for their mischievous personalities — their name literally means “little thief” due to their habit of taking small objects and hiding them — and how much they love to play, including with other animals. They’re also high-maintenance, meaning you shouldn’t attempt to channel your inner Roman without giving it a good deal of thought first.