we fed the squirrels

the stale gingerbread houses last night,
set them all out in the yard like a village
to be ravaged. in the morning they came,
breaking off corners of roofs & gnawing
on candy cane entrance ways. it's deep into
january now & the thrill of everything has
gone away. i helped your family take 
down the christmas decorations & thought
about how i don't think i'd ever want so
many ornaments & how i'd probably never
have so many ornaments. today, while
you're at work i've taken to feeding 
the squirrels more. i open up your fridge 
& start by just tossing them apple slices
& baby carrots, normal person-feeding-animal things.
next, i made a cheese tray from the leftover
bree & sharp cheddar. i even set a little
cluster of grapes on the tray as garnish &
then go, walking out into the light snow to deliver 
the arrangement to the squirrels. they're just so 
frantic about food. i want to keep feeding
them until they calm down, chew patiently.
i guess i'm turning into my grandmother then,
she used to always point at me & say
"chew slowly, savor every bite." i still
don't chew slowly, but maybe there's hope
for the squirrels. after that i make them 
slow cooker chili, pour it into bowl
with espresso spoons in them. the squirrels
learn to use the spoons & they all sit
in a row, waiting for the next course. i have
to keep it coming so i bring out dinner rolls too,
teaching the squirrels to spread the butter
on how they like. i know i have to stop, 
i know i do, but they're so excited, 
the squirrels are. do they know it's 2019?
Google, how long do squirrels live? 10-18 years?
they're so young. they must be thrilled about
the new year, they only get so many of them.
then again, we also only get so many of them
but i'm older than the squirrels, i must be,
even if only by a few years. for dessert i made
macaroons because i thought they should have
something really special. the squirrels 
watched while i got the egg whites to peak
& dolloped each wafer onto the parchment paper
to bake. i perched the cookies delicately on
a serving plate & ate with the squirrels,
crouching in the grass. the squirrels actually ate 
slower than me, wiping their little faces 
in between bites. i asked them if i could join
them & be a squirrel too this year, 
which confused the squirrels, so they scattered back 
towards the trees at far end of the yard.  
back in the kitchen, the cabinets & the pantry 
were ransacked, only a few crumbs remained
in each. i fed the squirrels all our food,
but it was wonderful while it lasted.