I look across
the moss covered snag
laid delicately on the forest floor
creating habitat for micro-cilium
and rodent families.
Momentarily disorientated
by the crashing of dry
and disjointed underbrush,
I peer through the Fir thicket
attempting to find the source.
At first I am both startled and amazed
at the sheer size of what I perceive to be
an angry grizzly mother
a territorial male mountain cougar
a ******* bigfoot!!
To my surprise and terror
I hear the crashing get closer
and catch the wafting scent
of my unknown adversary…
nay, my death provider
and the digester of Sam.
Unfiltered fear sweeps through me
as visions of all the things in my life
left undone, pass before my eyes
holding grandchildren, reading to them
holding my wife’s small fingers at the table
of the assisted living facilities dining room,
stamps…
when at once my fear is realized
and I find myself staring into the malicious
deadly
evil eyes of
a baby fawn still in spot
that my reckless forest tramping
has stirred from its hidden slumber.
I blush and move on.