Sonnet the hedgehog

Sonnet the hedgehog

I can’t remember the last time I saw

A hedgehog in my back garden at night,

Scurrying around outside the back door,

Or curled up in a ball of prickled fright.

They used to feed upon the slimy slugs

That damaged the flowers, and ate the greens,

And they purged the number of harmful bugs

That spoiled the strawberries and runner beans.

These days, bugs are free to commit their crimes,

The slugs are no longer met with dispatch,

And I look with sadness, back on the times,

When hedgehogs policed our edible patch.

Now hedges by fences have been replaced,

And my back garden is no longer graced.