Dispatch
The bear was small
and black
and looked like a large dog.
It was even panting,
Gasping,
for air.
One, or perhaps both,
of its lungs
was probably crushed.
It was crawling over asphalt
towards the forest,
home,
bloody
and broken.
It had crossed paths with a car.
It would not survive.
When the officer arrived on the scene,
he informed us
he would have to “dispatch”
of the bear.
Dispatch.
That word
clung
to my brain,
offending my soul.
Dispatch.
Like it was a food order.
A phone call. A message.
A flight plan.
I looked at the suffering
dog like bear,
it’s useless legs,
bloody paws,
nose and mouth,
crawling futilely
towards home.
It did not cry, but I heard it wheezing,
a rattle in its lungs.
And then,
with a well-placed bullet,
it was,
dispatched.
And the wheezing stopped.
Having been dispatched,
the young bear
looked small and weak.
It did not look peaceful.
all rights reserved. copyright Justin W. price Jan. 9, 2012
View the original here
and black
and looked like a large dog.
It was even panting,
Gasping,
for air.
One, or perhaps both,
of its lungs
was probably crushed.
It was crawling over asphalt
towards the forest,
home,
bloody
and broken.
It had crossed paths with a car.
It would not survive.
When the officer arrived on the scene,
he informed us
he would have to “dispatch”
of the bear.
Dispatch.
That word
clung
to my brain,
offending my soul.
Dispatch.
Like it was a food order.
A phone call. A message.
A flight plan.
I looked at the suffering
dog like bear,
it’s useless legs,
bloody paws,
nose and mouth,
crawling futilely
towards home.
It did not cry, but I heard it wheezing,
a rattle in its lungs.
And then,
with a well-placed bullet,
it was,
dispatched.
And the wheezing stopped.
Having been dispatched,
the young bear
looked small and weak.
It did not look peaceful.
all rights reserved. copyright Justin W. price Jan. 9, 2012
View the original here
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