A Cool Wind

By Richard L. Provencher

Tue, 10 Jun 2014
  • 893 reads
4 comments
 

shivers across ranch pastures,

teases arthritic bones

and shares pain

regardless of beauty

beyond the Hungry Hills,

where grizzlies --- two of them

met their match.

 

No longer do they plunder

helpless cattle, sinking

jagged teeth into

fresh Western meat --- no

longer will razor claws

tear apart their prey

in preparation for a feast.

 

A 44.40 rifle did them in;

one mounted at the

small airport in Smithers BC

the other seen

in the Visitor’s Centre,

at Houston --- not far away.  

Certificate PG
Poem
POETRY - A Passage of Motion 3
Nature

Comments

Submitted by scratch on

I always admire your nature observations Richard.  The bears were there first, we would do well to remember that.

 

Submitted by Richard L. Prov... on

Hi Scratch, I'm glad you liked my poem. I like to write about the reality of life today and yesterday. At one time the tens of thousands of bears (black, brown ones and grizzlies) owned British Columbia, and they can be very territorial. These days they come into the cities and towns and know man is sloppy with food left in bins which are very aromatic. It also draws them into a lazier way of life, ie munching on cattle, besides their normal diet of berries, fish and honey. Can you imagine, I read there are fifty thousand black bears in Ontario alone --- no grizzlies though. 

Richard L. Provencher

Submitted by Bee on

I felt sad reading this beacause I like bears so much, but your poem is really good, so I enjoyed reading it, too.

Bee

Submitted by Richard L. Prov... on

Thank you too, Bee. Yes, bears are very cute, preferably from a distance. They can outrun, outswim and outclimb any human in the woods. In BC my son in law has to bring a rifle when he gets his firewood in the woods one hundred feet from his home. In fact, a month ago when returning home on a side road from work in Dawson City, Yukon a grizzly ran from the woods and chased him for about a mile down the road. He was close enough for Dave to see the Grizzlies' hair standing on end, and he had to be careful not to run off the road. Exciting, eh?

Richard L. Provencher