I am at war with a creature

I had planted 6 bulbs of onions in my garden

The creature dug up the 6 bulbs of onions

Is it a racoon or a squirrel

Is it hungry or curious

In the mornings the bulbs sit in a crater

They are unharmed but traumatized

Before lunch I cover them again

For a moment I see the bulbs screaming as the sunlight is no longer in reach

Whether it is a scream of joy or fear I will never know

At night the creature visits

It digs its paw around the blubs,

It leaves the bulbs untouched

Is the creature like a fisherman who releases the small fry

Or is it the onion’s knight in shining armor,

Taking the night air to the bulb,

Rescuing it from the suffocating earth

The war has been going on for a month

The creature’s persistence makes me wonder

Am I the creature in its eyes

Am I the villain in the story it writes