Moles are industrious creatures, clever and bold;

Immensely powerful with spade-like hands;

A powerful neck and shoulders, strong;

An agile body, fragile, flexible and soft.

Dark blue-black fur, soft as velvet;

Fine whiskers and needle-sharp teeth;

No visible ears and tiny black eyes;

A bristly tail gauges the tunnel height.

Moles create feeding tunnels and permanent homes;

Tilling the dark earth into a fine crumb;

Oxygenated blood helps to get the work done;

Where protected, land owners accommodate them.

A handful of Moles cover vast tracts of land;

They breed and spread out into neighbouring fields;

Controlled naturally by Hawks, Foxes and Owls;

Saved by the raised plough cutters of modern times.

Gardeners are the greatest threat to Moles;

They fear losing control of their pristine lawns;

It's a personal affront, if the truth be told;

Keeping today's Molecatchers gainfully employed.

Moles leaves many clues but are rarely seen;

They dig twenty metres of tunnels a day;

Under walls, paths, crossing rivers too;

Spare a thought for the Mole, mysterious and true.

Sue Cartwright

Spiral Leaf