I wait for a day where I am not seen as prey
I stitch this message into fuzz that wafts from my warren
Tuft floats away into the ether
A bird calls me back to the raccoon sniffing at my front door
Pointing fat grey fingers, barging in
"So you don't want to be a rabbit?"
My home is warm and cozy
My life is spent wandering meadows and eating fresh fruit
When I am tired, I sleep
When I am hungry, I eat
"I want to be a rabbit
But I do not want to be your prey"
The raccoon grumble-groans, beady eyes rolling towards the den's packed ceiling
"That isn't the way the world works
If you don't want to be prey
You are predator"
I don't want to hunt rabbits
To turn blind to the trembles that follow my footsteps
Sit with the other beasts of the wood and watch chickadees compete for our favor
I don't want to shed my paws for talons, my nibbling teeth for a sharp maw
"I don't want to be a predator
I don't want to be prey
I want to be a rabbit."
He stoops to look me in the eye
"That's not how the world works"
I stoop to bring his gaze lower
"It is today"