my son ethan and i went for a walk in the woods today. we traveled from the old covered bridge and along the river away from town and toward the place i live now. we ended up in a beautiful field. the weather felt too warm for late november but it also felt too good to disagree with. it's hunting season and as we crossed the steel bridge a pick up passed by with a small deer in the truck bed.
The Beautiful Animal
By the time I recalled that it is also
terrifying, we had gone too far into
the charmed woods to return. It was then
the beautiful animal appeared in our path:
ribs jutting, moon-fed eyes moving
from me to you and back. If we show
none of the fear, it may tire of waiting
for the triggering flight, it may ask only
to lie between us and sleep, fur warm
on our skin, breath sweet on our necks
as it dreams of slaughter, as we dream
alternately of feeding and taming it
and of being the first to run. The woods
close tight around us, lying nested here
like spoons in a drawer of knives, to see
who wakes first, and from which dream.
...
1 comment:
A lovely poem. Is it from a collection?
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