I, Human

[scrape, scrape, clunk, crreeeaaakkk]I, Human, open the door and enter the porch of my cabin in the wild;The cold air shocks me, inside the cabin the fire had things mild.I shiver, and wait for my body to adjust to the freezing cold;I long for my warm cabin, but I have work to do, be it foretold.Aye, there’s traps to run, and animals to skin, both wolf and hare;If I wait too long, others will get them, and leave only bones to share.For I need pelts, to sell in the town, and meat, to put on my table;Forsaking all else, I must get to my traps, as quickly as I’m able.I pick up my rifle, and sling it o’er my back; a gun I need you see;For there’s danger out there, lurking ; it could be them or me.Call them “wild” animals, but I’ll tell you, I’m just as wild as they;The wolf and the bobcat, the hare and the fox, no men’s laws they obey.As it is with them, so it is with I; I have no stomach for the laws of men;I live in rough country, where few dare to go, and even fewer have been.Is it a hard life I live? Yeah, some would say that a lot I go through;It bothers me not, for I answer to naught, and do what I want to do.[shuffle, shuffle, thunk, thunk, thunk, squish, squish…]I, Human, walk down the stairs, and leave the safety of my abode;Out into the snow and the ice, and of course, the wind and the cold.The snow is six inches or more, and grabs at my feet, the going is slow;I plunge and I surge, ever plowing, against the wind that does blow.My destination is certain; I’ve been there a-plenty;Setting traps for my future; and there are very many.The hide of the Wolf, the Rabbit, the Bobcat; they bring a price,I sell the pelts, and keep the rest, for a good dinner tonight.I set traps yesterday, though I think I may have been seen;By the Wolf and the Rabbit, and others in between.But, they have thoughts of their own, and might soon forget,And in their wandering blunder into a trap I have set.So on I stride, my purpose in mind, toward a knoll in a glade;A place where I saw tracks that Wolf and Rabbit had made.There I had crossed the terrain, setting traps by the dozens;The better to catch Wolf, or Rabbit, or one of their cousins.[WoooohoooooooOoooooohooooowoooooooooooooo….]I listen to the wind sing through the trees as I march along;It seems to be telling me something, maybe singing a song.A song about the Wild; maybe the life of a bobcat’s offspring;Children  precious, yet hard to protect, in the midst of everything.Predators abound, even the Wolf and Panther have enemies galore;I, Human, am the greatest of these; with guns and traps I explore.But, with one tiny mistake, even the greatest can fall to the ground;And if I do, rest assured, Mr. Wolf and Coyote will come around.My body to glean, and my bones to pick, a feast of human flesh;And when they’re done, they’ll lie in the sun, their souls to refresh.This I know, but it bothers me not, for I would do the same;Life in the Wild, you must take what’s given, be it lame or game.For I’ve eaten them all; Wolf, Rabbit, Raccoon; the list runs long;Life in the Wild, you can’t be picky, food is not bought for a song.Urban humans might think me bad, and say my name is a curse;But if they knew what I know, they might put my name in a verse.[WaaaaaOooooooaawwwwooooooAawaaaoooooooooo…..]Hark!! The call of Wolf brings me at once back into my sense;Forget the song of the Wild, for now I must drop all pretense.I’m near the trapping place, maybe the Wolf is in one of them;His winter coat I’ll take to sell in town, it will be no problem.Furs make clothes, like the coat I wear, made from Wolf and Hare;Keeping me warm when winter blows, protecting my skin so fair.The money for the pelt will buy me salt, and other things I need;Like bullets and oil, and, for the spring; maybe some seed.At last I’m here, the clearing with the knoll is off to the right;I edge into the woods, a rabbit scurries, my traps to sight.Ah! There’s one there that’s been sprung, but it holds only Wolf’s leg;A trail of blood leads over a hill, for his life the Wolf does beg.Eager now, I surge up the hill, throwing caution into the wind;I must hurry, scurry, scurry; else others will get him in the end.At the crest of the hill, down the side, by a pond Wolf does lie;Steam from his body, he’s still warm, I must have heard him die.[yaaaahooooooowaaahoooooooyyyeeaaaaahhhhbudddddyyyy…]A cry of exultation passes my lips, I’m so happy the Wolf is mine;And his body’s still whole [except for a leg]; a trophy, of a kind.I start to rush to him, to claim my prize, but wait, I walk into a birch;It stings my head and knocks me back, my balance is lost in the lurch.My heel strikes a root, I fall back, down the hill from whence I came;My legs twist under me, I feel one break, I know I’m coming up lame.My head strikes a rock, senses abide, and blackness does loom;My last clear thought is of the life I’ve chose; impending, is it’s doom.When I awaken, I see Wolf’s brothers and sisters pacing around me;There’s a dozen or more, waiting for me to awake, it’s a lesson you see.They want me awake, so I can feel the pain, I have inflicted upon them;Could have killed me while I slept; only now, are they ready to begin.My gun! Where is my gun? Oh, I see it now, laying there in the snow;Maybe six feet away; must try and get it, the wolves I must show.But they pace faster now, and the circle they do tighten; coming soon;I must reach my rifle, their progress to stifle; else, I’m dead as a loon.BuuttttallatoncetheyclosethegapasidragmybrokenbodytowardsmygunNearernearerevernearericanalmostreachmyriflesonearyetsofaricanAlmosttouchthebuttbutsomethingpullsonmybrokenlegandPAINfillsMymindOagony!ireachagainbutthistimesomethingbitesmyfingersasIreachcuriouslyilookatmyhandtwoorthreefingersseemtobemissingAndsomethingelseiswronginolongerfeelmyclothesithinktheyhavebeenTornfrommybodythewolves!the wolves!theyareallaroundmeimustcryOutseeksomehelpiopenmymouthandscreamEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!butnosoundcomesoutMYTHROAT!WHEREISMYTHROAT!!mythroatisgoneandicantspeakIfeelawarmnuzzleatmybellyandthenamontrousbiteandpullandilookDownandseemygutssteamingonthesnowandthesnowisturningredallAroundmewhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywHYWHY……..[In my head, I see a time long ago when I was young and it seemed likeAll the pastures were green and the white of winter was a wonderlandTo play in.  I am standing with my mother beside a cold, clear stream,Looking for fish that are swimming.  Around me wildlife abounds; there are rabbits over there, and far off on a hill there appears to be the Silhouette of a wolf.  There, over there, on the other side of the stream; Mrs. Bobcat pads along a trail with her four young’uns following closeBehind.  Up in the trees are the birds, singing their constant song; a Cacophony but yet a melody.  The air is warm, the earth smells good,And I am happy.  My mother hums some forgotten song as she looksAround; blissful smile on her face.  “This is our home, son, aren’t youHappy?”, she says to me, trace of a tear hanging on her cheek.  “Yes,Mommy, I am very happy!”, I say, and I mean it.  But then, Mommy’sFace seems to dissolve, along with the stream and the animals and the birds and the sun and the sky and the air and the earth; dissolve intoTotal blackness; blackness with a little point of light at the center. EvenAs I look, the point of light shrinks.  One last time I call out, “Mommy,Mommy, don’t leave, I need you!!”  Then, suddenly, quickly, the lightWinks out………………………………............] Written July 23rd, 2001 © on Jul 23 2001 02:34 PM PST, Brazos Mason   0 • 10