A Couple of Bad Years (Pronounced Badgers)

​A COUPLE OF BAD YEARS
(Bad years, pronounced ‘badgers’)
I once had a couple of bad years
They just kind of showed up
On my doorstep
I hear it’s not unheard of
But not everybody gets them

I had a couple of bad years
Small, coarse, nocturnal creatures,
Would give you nightmares, nightmares,
Quivering, terrible, frightened things

I had a couple of bad years,
At one point I was very afraid and I told a beautiful, smart friend of mine who I loved,
She said don’t you worry about bad years, they are more afraid of you than you are of them
And I smiled and said "you’re right"
Even though I was sure she was thinking of cats, I didn’t disagree 
Because she was pretty
And I knew she would hug me if I told her she was right

I had a couple of bad years
Dark things that didn’t like to see the light of day
I thought I would never let them go and they would not release me
From their omnivorous talons
I found it hard to get from place to place with my bad years
Following me around
Because at that time everything seemed too far away to travel for it’s worth
And my bad years were as short tempered as they were short legged

What I remember most about my bad years,
Is how they weren’t just black and white
They appeared that way on the surface,
But I was surprised to find,
Many different colors ran through them on the inside

I didn’t really know what to do with my bad years
They didn’t teach me that in school
Not even in Biology
Which was bad, in fairness
​
I hear some people prefer to be social with their bad years
But mine preferred to be alone
I did not release my bad years back into the wild until my empty sett became a home