Poems of the Week

Lurk, Lurk

by Julia Griffin

for Tam

“Goat Attacks Man, Lurks in Background As Paramedics Help Victim in Video
Footage of the incident … showed ambulance staff attempting to get the man
onto a stretcher, as the goat quietly lurked in the background. …

It remains unclear whether the goat was provoked.”
Newsweek

I find, when human beings irk,
It’s best to lunge and then to lurk.
I butt them, yes; don’t think I shirk;
But lurking too is vital work.
So was this incident a quirk,
Or automatic fetlock-jerk?
Was I provoked, or just berserk?
Here’s all you need to know: I lurk.