Hunters in the Woods

a poem by Jan Oskar Hansen

The forest’s floor was softer than a pile carpet,
And more aromatic than a Boudoir. In an idyllic
Glade two deer grazed on succulent green and
A slight haze made the scene into Walt Disney’s
Bambi. At times one of them looked up scanned
The woods and listened to the virtuous silence.
Rifle shots punctured the hush, the buck, yes
They were a happy couple, sprang in the air and
Fell down dead. The doe, with a stomach wound,
Entrails seeping out, escaped only to be killed by
An old bear tired of a diet of berries and salmon.
Voices of jubilation ricocheted from tree to tree
Until they drowned in a lake, which absolve and
Absorb all things evil, a light shudder a ripple of
Discontent and then the forest were serene again.