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" The mower stalled, twice; kneeling, I found
A hedgehog jammed up against the blades,
Killed. It had been in the long grass.

I had seen it before, and even fed it, once.
Now I had mauled its unobtrusive world
Unmendably. Burial was no help:

Next morning I got up and it did not.
The first day after a death, the new absence
Is always the same; we should be careful

Of each other, we should be kind
While there is still time.

- The Mower "

Philip Larkin , Collected Poems


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Philip Larkin quote : The mower stalled, twice; kneeling, I found<br />A hedgehog jammed up against the blades,<br />Killed. It had been in the long grass.<br /><br />I had seen it before, and even fed it, once.<br />Now I had mauled its unobtrusive world<br />Unmendably. Burial was no help:<br /><br />Next morning I got up and it did not.<br />The first day after a death, the new absence<br />Is always the same; we should be careful<br /><br />Of each other, we should be kind<br />While there is still time.<br /><br />- <b>The Mower</b>