ALL THE GRANNIES HAD DEAD FOXES - A Poem by Pat Ingoldsby

My grandmother had a fox fur stole with a head and paws. She died when I was just four but I still remember the terror I felt when she hugged me while wearing it.

All The Grannies Had Dead Foxes

My Granny used to wear a dead fox around her neck.

She would be standing there with the dead fox on her

and its eyes would be looking at you.

Then she would take it off

and drape it over the back of the sofa

and it would still be looking at you.

And it would be telling you with its eyes

"The rest of them think I'm dead but you and I

know differently and when you're asleep tonight

Sonny Jim, I'm going to creep upstairs and eat you."

"Ma! Granny's fox is lookin' at me and thinkin'

about eating me!"

"If you don't eat your dinner I'll fox you."

So you lay awake for hours watching the door.

Or you'd be in under the stairs

trying to find your coat

and you'd be peeling away the layers

when suddenly - "WAAAAAHHHH!!"

Granny's fox would be hiding under the coats.

Granny's fox would be looking at you.

"Is that you roaring under the stairs!!?"

"Granny's fox is lookin' at me!"

"You're going up to bed in a minute!!"

I think they only shot the ones with the glass eyes.

in Do Lámh I Mo Bhrístí, 2001