It’s not the oxytocin
“Monogamous rodents
don’t need love molecule
to pair up”
Smugly convened the latest issue
Of a peer reviewed journal
Written by men in white coats
Haunting the halls
Of synthetic knowledge
Spying upon cages
Of cuddly, bewildered prairie voles
Whose nemesis are ferrets, weasels
Otters and minks
The latter’s plight being that they are prone
To host the jumping of viruses between species
Amassed as they are by the thousands
In confined spaces to provide
Raw materials for mink coats
Creating a blight for those
Slippery to the touch, uncuddly
Humans with their gold lined
Central nervous systems
And Viagra on the longest wanted
Fugitive’s night stand
Pina Piccolo, 27 January 2023
Cover image: Photo by Todd H Ahem, Emory university “Vole family”