by Steven Urquhart Bell

“‘Checking before [weed-whacking] could save a hedgehog’”
–BBC

If Larkin hadn’t killed one, though,
We wouldn’t have “The Mower,”
A hugely moving piece of verse
That doesn’t trade on gore.

And also, you could argue, having
Died on Larkin’s lawn, it’s
As famous and immortal as
The muse of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

So does the verse excuse the fact
He didn’t check? It’s ticklish.
A Larkin fan might say it does,
But others might be pricklish.