Hog Mountain

by Peter Huggins

 

Wild hogs ran over this mountain.
They rooted for tubers,
Chewed nuts. I see no hogs,
I find no Civil War relics,
No Minie balls, belt buckles,
Cavalry spurs or sabers,
Not even a single bone.

All I find are the hulls
Of hickory nuts,
Empty shot, splayed casings,
The crucified carcasses
Of butchered hogs.

©2005 Peter Huggins

Peter Huggins teaches in the English Department at Auburn University. His books of poems are Necessary Acts, River City Publishing, 2004, Blue Angels, River City Publishing, 2001, and Hard Facts, Livingston Press, 1998. A novel for middle readers, In the Company of Owls, is forthcoming from NewSouth Books, and a picture book, Trosclair and the Alligator, is due out in October 2005 from Star Bright Books/New York.