this day full of promise
let's say you're a deer
and as deer go
you're smarter than average
you're having a good year
whatever it is that you like to eat
is plentiful
you've found an excellent source
of cool, clean water
your summer is going
exactly as you'd planned
your antlers are coming in
things are on target
the doe of your dreams
is doing the doe-eyed thing
it's a monday morning
although that means nothing
it is just past dawn
you don't know
that you are up wind
from the bear
this is the forest
these are the trees
the flowers are beautiful
and the air is sweet
in the city
madness sometimes descends
in such a random fashion
that if it weren't horror
it would be humor
you could be walking home
from dinner or work
you could be in your bed
under safe sheets
a man approaches
out of the darkness
neither malice or mayhem
on his mind
he thinks no more evil
than the bear
quiet in the shadows
there is no thought
to the natural order
no safe place for the hunted
noon shines down directly
as flies skydive
the crimson puddles
the beer
having manifested its will
its destiny
its reason for being
has wandered to a nearby meadow
providence has blown a beehive
from the crooked branches of an aspen
into the sweet toothed path of the bear
there is another somewhat shaded pool
where dessert and a nap ensue
the bear dreams bear dreams
none better than reality
in the city
the closed windows of the home
you once lived in
keep in the sound of blue flies
and the answering machine's unhappy drone
hours, days, weeks
one of them pass
you're found
by a partner, a friend
the mailman
your story is in the paper
the killer is found
or not
the sun comes up
the following day
with no regrets
and no remorse
this day
as full of promise
as every other
since the beginning of time
Copyright© michael dennis
back to no gravy, no garlands, no bright lights