The Day of the Rabbit

Accipitrine wing-shadows sweep the ground
While the air resounds with screeches and squeals;
The hunt is on! Beware, teensy mammals . . .
To your burrows, and do not pause for play.
Today is le Jour de Lapin, I've decreed it,
In le Mois Nivöse, the Year of the Rat.
We'll feast on bunnymeat, dark and sweet,
Roasted and glazed with honey and herbs,
Banked with lentils and petits pois.
(Mealworms and grubs pour les omophages.)
See young Augustus tackle that hare,
Tear into the flesh like a ravenous raptor;
For him, the asparagus--limp and pale--
Holds no allure. Give him beast red with blood
Or fowl flocked with feathers;
Even fish with fins and tail attached--
He'll devour those whole!
And for dessert? Maybe
A nice mousey mousse.
Sleep well, Augustus,
And awake fully fledged.