This Raccoon

a salted pelt
red, hot, and frothing
made an odd choice
and crossed the road-
mid-way anyway-
and then dead
found itself in the back
of my dad's white station wagon
warm until it rested
in a basement fridge
next to a flat of ice cold tiki punch.
peel, salt, scrape, salt,
scrape, salt, scrape...
cut crisp / soft
...and hang it in the family-room
back wall
with four squirrels, another raccoon,
and two rabbits
road-kill pelts surviving with us...
our family hobby