The Star-Nosed Mole
by
Jennifer Angelina Petro

The star-nosed mole has twenty-two rays
shining from its short snout, and that red, fleshy light
guides the blind eyes as it throws dirt behind with grappling claws.

These are bhakti days—even the flea leaps for joy.
What isn’t the shabd? Everything digs
for the vermillion light just ahead behind the dark.