for my beloved, Douglas D. Melick (1969-2017)

A stumbling red fox in New York City
is like a child in the sun on a summer day,
scattering details, desperately solving
problems that are humanly possible.

The most human characteristic that
defines the red fox is love—yet
enmity and natural antipathy
between your kind and mine

is what is fundamentally vicious,
what will not change,
nor certain natures
refuse to be reformed. 

Like the red fox, I have died
knowingly, reproaching myself
for pitying a rabid scoundrel.

Originally from Maplewood, NJ, Ilari Pass is a retired maintenance worker of the United States Postal Service. She holds a BA in English from Guilford College of Greensboro, NC, and an MA in English, with a concentration in literature, from Gardner-Webb University of Boiling Springs, NC. Other works appear or forthcoming in The American Journal of Poetry, Free State Review, Broad River Review, Common Ground Review, and others.