Grizzly Tragedy

Just a few feet off-trail was

all it was-

he heard the snap

in his ankle – falling

across an avalanche of rock

brought his hiking

partner – spent many years

in these Banff Park hills.

“Thanks somebody” slid from

his lips as pain seemed to pause

his fall about 20 feet down-

As  his wife

shouted encouragement

& other chit-chat she screamed

Bear! Then silence.

He froze as a huge grizzly

peeked from the top.

White-hot adrenalin and

a mixture of pain

tears & anger supported his rapid

climb to confront this beast.

At first the bear was

startled by the man’s wild

charge, with fists

flailing, Suddenly the grizzly

greatly mauled his victim

and the bloody man soon

fell alongside the lifeless form

of his wife.

Bear & cub headed home.

Ps. This poem was written in

memory of one couple who

lost their lives in Banff, Alberta.