the thundering Once-ler

little Lorax

i was the thundering once-ler
wielding the slicing
black and decker
weed wacker

little did i know of
the warren i destroyed
until the one week-old?
two-week old? coneys
lagomorphs
or in pre-thesaurus terms
bunnies
scattered

there were only two babies
there is an adult rabbit around, mama
also another teenage if you will
lapin
quite fond of my dad’s clover
and overgrown backyard
that i, in town, for my dear mother’s funeral
was seeking to remedy

sorry! sorry!
i shouted after them
really! truly!
my aim not to be the criminal
only the good son
and my mother watching too
from all wheres

then when i revved up the mower
and got to that, very careful
not to run over either of the barely
fist-sized fur balls furled and frightened
i only saw one
nestled up tight against the garage

i took a wide and kind berth
and plead for forgiveness 
as i bellowed by

much later in the evening
(we’d watched Close Encounters of 
the Third Kind, notching another off the list of our and
my mother’s favorites- Jaws, Dead Poets Society, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure
believe it or not…Chariots of Fire next on the list
Fried Green Tomatoes had kicked it off while she was still alive
but barely flickering and we gathered round in vigil, by her side)
after my dad had gone to bed
and my sisters and youngest niece
to their own

i thought better than
to walk down to the neighborhood bar
after reading o sensei’s opening paragraph
on budo and two hits from my pipe

train, why not train?
here under the stars
in this freshly mowed
and beautifully treed backyard?

starting from the kneeling position
when i’d stretched and gotten to my feet
i felt something furry nestle up to my left bare foot

i leapt sky high
but had the wherewithal 
to land free and clear
of my new, furry little friend

it scampered away

trying hard to sleep in till eight
still can’t get much past six-twenty
(though a rendezvous with the boys
marks the calendar tonight)
and was outside again with coffee
thinking of my mother, conversing 
with her and the new morning
the glorious sun

and an inkling?
(ma? is that you?)
and i walked over to the egress window
of my once and now during my stay
until my wife gets here and we move to a hotel
basement bedroom window 

there nestled, sweet as could be
one of the two bunnies
who i will not touch nor hold
so as not to taint
and our kitty back home
would not be so welcoming

so not knowing male or female
roger or jessica
i’ve named them lorax

but failed to locate their, her, his, its sibling
on my careful walk
around the house

i’ll be back outside
in a little bit 
to check up
on things
again

***
update:

last night
i spied reunited siblings
and mother 
grazing on clover

i've redubbed them
Alorax, Seussy
and Mama O'Hare