11-19-2022, 10:05 AM
Stand off
The bear traps set
all began to trigger
in rapid succession.
No buck, no coon,
just deliberate ribs.
I considered them
with quiet fortitude
and lifted my rifle.
Dead sticks littered
the dry forest floor,
so like Billy Colman
perched on a root
I would wait for my
deer to graze closer.
Dull scraping, like
that of two bones
drug over asphalt
began to emanate
beyond the barrel.
Sweat rolled down
as I held my stead
the noise growing
louder and louder
until dead- full stop.
Trees shook as it
shuffled away, the
forest litter crackling
underfoot like tinder
on the hearthstone.
I did the same
and never hunted
in that forest again.
The bear traps set
all began to trigger
in rapid succession.
No buck, no coon,
just deliberate ribs.
I considered them
with quiet fortitude
and lifted my rifle.
Dead sticks littered
the dry forest floor,
so like Billy Colman
perched on a root
I would wait for my
deer to graze closer.
Dull scraping, like
that of two bones
drug over asphalt
began to emanate
beyond the barrel.
Sweat rolled down
as I held my stead
the noise growing
louder and louder
until dead- full stop.
Trees shook as it
shuffled away, the
forest litter crackling
underfoot like tinder
on the hearthstone.
I did the same
and never hunted
in that forest again.