The Intruder By Carolyn Kizer - Giggle Poems

Original Poem：

My mother—preferring the strange to the tame:
Dove-note, bone marrow, deer dung,
Frog’s belly distended with finny young,
Leaf-mold wilderness, harebell, toadstool,
Odd, small snakes roving through the leaves,
Metallic beetles rambling over stones: all
Wild and natural!—flashed out her instinctive love, and quick, she
Picked up the fluttering, bleeding bat the cat laid at her feet,
And held the little horror to the mirror, where
He gazed on himself, and shrieked like an old screen door far off.
Depended from her pinched thumb, each wing
Came clattering down like a small black shutter.
Still tranquil, she began, “It’s rather sweet ...”
The soft mouse body, the hard feral glint
In the caught eyes. Then we saw,
And recoiled: lice, pallid, yellow,
Nested within the wing-pits, cozily sucked and snoozed.
The thing dropped from her hands, and with its thud,
Swiftly, the cat, with a clean careful mouth
Closed on the soiled webs, growling, took them out to the back stoop.
But still, dark blood, a sticky puddle on the floor
Remained, of all my mother’s tender, wounding passion
For a whole wild, lost, betrayed, and secret life
Among its dens and burrows, its clean stones,
Whose denizens can turn upon the world
With spitting tongue, an odor, talon, claw,
To sting or soil benevolence, alien
As our clumsy traps, our random scatter of shot.
She swept to the kitchen. Turning on the tap,
She washed and washed the pity from her hands.

Analysis and Interpretation of the Poem

This poem vividly portrays a mother’s deep and instinctive connection to the wild and unusual aspects of nature. The opening lines introduce her preference for the strange over the familiar, listing a series of natural elements that are often overlooked or considered unpleasant: dove-note, bone marrow, deer dung, frog’s belly, leaf mold, harebell, toadstool, small snakes, metallic beetles. These details emphasize her intimate relationship with the raw and untamed world.

The central event in the poem is the mother’s reaction to a wounded bat brought by the family cat. Rather than recoiling, she instinctively picks up the bat, showing her compassion and curiosity. The bat’s frightened shriek and the fluttering of its wings create a vivid sensory image. However, the discovery of lice nesting in the bat’s wings introduces a harsh reality of nature’s imperfections, causing a moment of revulsion.

Despite this, the mother’s tender passion for this “wild, lost, betrayed, and secret life” remains evident. The poem contrasts the mother’s gentle care with the cat’s natural predatory behavior, symbolizing the complex and sometimes harsh interactions within the natural world. The final image of the mother washing her hands repeatedly suggests a cleansing of sorrow or pity, highlighting the emotional weight of her empathy.

Background and Author Introduction

This poem reflects a deep appreciation for nature’s complexity and the emotional ties humans can have with it. The author, known for their keen observation of natural life and human emotions, often explores themes of wilderness, vulnerability, and the coexistence of beauty and harshness in the natural world.

The poem likely draws from personal experience or close observation of a maternal figure who embodies a profound respect for wildlife, even in its less appealing forms. It captures a moment that reveals not only the mother’s character but also broader themes of empathy, survival, and the sometimes painful realities of life.

Reflections and Insights

Reading this poem invites us to reconsider our relationship with the natural world. It challenges us to appreciate not only the beautiful and familiar but also the strange and uncomfortable. The mother’s compassion for the bat, despite its lice and blood, teaches us about empathy and the acceptance of imperfection.

The poem also highlights the tension between human kindness and nature’s rawness — a reminder that care and cruelty often coexist. The mother’s washing of her hands symbolizes the emotional labor involved in engaging deeply with life’s difficult truths.

Educational Value and Learning Points for Children and Students

From this poem, children and students can learn several important lessons:

• Empathy and Compassion: The mother’s care for the wounded bat shows kindness to all living creatures, even those that might seem frightening or unpleasant.
• Observation Skills: The detailed descriptions encourage careful observation of nature’s small and often overlooked details.
• Respect for Nature: Understanding that nature includes both beauty and harsh realities helps foster respect and responsibility for the environment.
• Emotional Awareness: The poem explores complex emotions like pity, tenderness, and discomfort, helping students recognize and articulate their feelings.
• Vocabulary Development: Words like feral, denizens, talon, and cozily expand students’ language skills and understanding of descriptive imagery.

Practical Applications in Life and Learning

• Science and Biology: The poem can be used to introduce topics about ecosystems, animal behavior, and the role of insects and mammals in nature.
• Creative Writing: Students can practice writing their own nature-inspired poems or stories, focusing on sensory details and emotional responses.
• Environmental Education: It encourages discussions about wildlife conservation, humane treatment of animals, and the impact of humans on natural habitats.
• Emotional Intelligence: Teachers can use the poem to prompt conversations about empathy and how to handle difficult emotions when encountering suffering or distress.

Reading Comprehension Exercises

1. What does the mother prefer, and how is this shown in the poem?
2. Describe the mother’s reaction when she finds the wounded bat.
3. What unpleasant discovery is made about the bat, and how does it affect the mother?
4. How does the poem contrast the mother’s behavior with that of the cat?
5. What does the act of washing her hands symbolize at the end of the poem?
6. List three words from the poem that describe the natural world and explain their meaning.
7. What lesson about nature and empathy can readers learn from this poem?

Answers

1. The mother prefers the strange and wild aspects of nature rather than the tame or familiar. This is shown through her interest in unusual natural elements like bone marrow, deer dung, and small snakes.
2. She quickly picks up the fluttering, bleeding bat and holds it carefully, showing compassion and curiosity despite the bat’s frightening appearance.
3. They discover lice nesting in the bat’s wings, which causes the mother to recoil and drop the bat, revealing the harsh realities of nature.
4. The mother shows tenderness and care, while the cat behaves naturally as a predator, taking the bat away to clean itself.
5. Washing her hands symbolizes the mother trying to remove the emotional pain and pity she feels for the bat and the wild life it represents.
6. Examples:
   • Feral (wild, untamed)
   • Denizens (inhabitants of a particular place)
   • Talon (a sharp claw of a bird or animal)
7. The poem teaches readers to have empathy for all living things, even those that are strange or unpleasant, and to respect the complexity and sometimes harshness of the natural world.

This poem offers rich material for students to explore language, emotions, and environmental awareness, making it an excellent resource for both literary and scientific education.