A cluster hiding in the understory
An orange choir that thrives
In some moist forests.
Call them Kanterel, Chanterelle,
Or Pfiffering—their apricot hue
Was a lure for annual woodland
Pilfering all the way back to
The ancient Romans.
But it’s their Russian name that may
Explain the enduring hunter’s thrill
To chase down these little beasts:
“Лисички”(*)
– little foxes – that
Will never end up as taxidermy
Trophies on any hunter’s walls—
Instead they will be honored
In a big old fashioned skillet
Sizzling with butter.
(*) Pronounced: Lee-Sitch-Kee
-M. C. Aster
M. C. Aster’s writing reflects her varied biography: born in Yugoslavia, life in Ethiopia during formative years, and work in Europe. Aster’s poems and writing have appeared in various anthologies, Slipstream, Stonecrop Review, Meat for Tea, and Poeming Pigeon. Forthcoming: Phantom Drift (poem), and Nine Cloud Journal (memoir piece). Aster lives in Mentone, California and fosters two endangered desert tortoises.