Done

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow — a poem card from Justes Mots

A stark narrative poem depicting a hunted fox fleeing toward its earth as an escape from death, only to discover the burrow has been sealed with stones. The poem captures the terror and desperation of prey facing inevitable death, with vivid sensory language conveying fear, pursuit, and the final moment of surrender. It explores themes of mortality and the instinct to survive in the face of inevitable doom.

For a minute he ran and heard no sound,
Then a whimper came from a questing hound,
Then a "This way, beauties," and then "Leu Leu,"
The floating laugh of the horn that blew.
Then the cry again and the crash and rattle
Of the shrubs burst back as they ran to battle.
Till the wood behind seemed risen from root,
Crying and crashing to give pursuit,…

Themes: sympathy · grief · reflection · new-chapter