The armadillo is a Texas icon, but it’s also a little mystifying: they’re often, sadly, seen smooshed on the side of the road. But if you keep your wits about you, you just might see one of these enigmas dawdling about in the wild, in their full, armored glory.
Armadillo Poem
there is a certain animal
that i’ve only ever seen
dead
on the side of the road
some small Texas highway
that leads, invitingly
to less and less
marked at regular intervals
by these still milestones
these armored lumps
their protective layer
keeping them unflattened
but not, alas
alive
and i often think –
i missed out
it’s too late
they’re gone
and i hear, too
that once upon a time
in Austin
another Armadillo lived
but i missed that one too
i guess we’re all roadkill
in the end
