Out of darkness
it descends—sharp-toothed
& with three little ones,
pink-whip tail wrapped
around the iron bar—
it starts to lower—
& in the open-air
courtyard bar below
heads turn up & shriek—
mama opossum only seen
as she drops down
from where down-pointed
soft-glow bulbs can’t reach—
then vanishes again—
back up—unseen
traversing to another beam—
appears above another
unsuspecting table—
who, in turn,
scream & scatter—
again, again—appears
retreats, & hisses—
like a reminder,
or a nightmare, or a dream
