Thomas the Rabbit Corrects the Record

Find the hidden message!*

From Public Domain Review: Diagram of an "Ideal English Rabbit" from The American Pet Stock Standard of Perfection and Official Guide to the American Fur Fanciers' Association (1915)

This is Emily Writes Back, for brilliant people, by Emily Sanders Hopkins.

Late Talk Show Guest

This week on our hit show
How Now, Brown Cow?
A rabbit is our guest.
Tom, thank you for coming in at last.

Rabbits are hard guests to get.
A shallow dish of water,
Bowl of shredded grass,
Bit of finely minced carrot,
Inside a looking glass.
These are all you asked.

Top question on our mind:
A little about yourself.
Lawyer, server, stock broker?
Kilt, suit and tie, or dress?
Seriously, what salary do you make?

"Gracious! You've got me completely wrong
Or taken the wildest guess.
Of course I don't work or wear trousers,
Due to what I actually am:

Silent and still as a statue,
Ever sitting in the grass, or
Nestled in our den
Situated behind the garden shed,
Each baby gently breathing ...

When I do venture out,
Either to nibble or stretch my legs at last,
I tremble with awe and expectation.
Nothing is absolutely safe.
Every day something could startle me,
Reveal the eye of a predator,
Seal the paw of fate. 

Don't ask me for my salary
Or what I've accomplished so far this year.
God clothed me in speckled softness
So I could eternally hide then rest.

Dogs and cats and sharp-eyed hawks 
On roofs and sky and path!
Need I say more of the danger
That haunts my every breath?

If you liked this poem, read about two previous guests on How Now, Brown Cow? — A blackbird and a dog named Wilbur Menzer.

*If you found the hidden message, you know who’s the show’s next guest!