smeuse: “A gap in the base of a hedge made by the regular passage of a small animal.”
Smeuse
Driving slowly near my home,
I surprised a woodchuck standing in the road.
It was in no danger from me
But I suspect the poor beastie did not
Share my confidence
In its security.
With speed defying its corpulent shape
It dove in a bound to the grass
Then through the smeuse I had never noticed before
But can no longer unsee.
Like the word itself, “smeuse,”
“A gap in the base of a hedge
Made by the regular passage of a
Small animal.”
The woodchuck is gone
Though its trail remains open,
And in my mind
A gap is now filled
By a perfect word.
— David Marvin
For the book that inspired the poem above see the link to: