Out There in the Night

A cold still night found me
Sitting by my fireplace
Sipping bourbon
In my rugged little cabin
My glass filthy-
from the soot on my fingers
As I sat in silence
Listening to the woods outside
The owl out there in a tree
The gossiping crickets
And suddenly
The crunch and snapping
of the dead leaves and twigs
on the ground
I tabled my drink and found a window
Nothing yet in sight
Just hard/heavy footsteps
Bringing someone large in my direction
I brought my hound out and put him on a chain
I squinted into the dark
Waiting
For brush to shake
For branches to give way
As I aimed my little rifle
Just a .22
I stood and waited
Shaking and shivering
in the cold
Knowing that this gun
Will not stop a thing that size-
those steps are carrying
with less than ten rounds
The slam/crunch/snap
Those soul-shaking footsteps
Out there
in the dark
The forest gone silent then
The crickets hushed
My chest and shoulders jolt
With the sound of each horrible strident stomp-
coming from behind the trees

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