Old Mountain Press In the Yard II

Once again I am pleased to see so many poets and writers of short fiction included in Old Mountain Press anthology In the Yard II.

I want to include some other poems from this book soon.

My poem, on page 4, was written many years ago while visiting the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia, Canada. We saw many wild animals on this trip and the Elk seemed to be everywhere. 

Canadian Rockies in October

          By Glenda Council Beall 

Beware. Elk are mating, we’re told.

A child is dead, sent by his father to pose

for a photo with an elk on the courthouse grounds.

 

Glacier fed lakes abound among

snow-covered peaks. We walk on

Athabasca Glacier, drink glacier water

 

so cold it numbs the lips.

We hang our hats for several days

in a cabin in Jasper, B.C.

 

A bull elk with huge rack, grazes

outside our door. He won’t be driven

away. He lies down and holds us captive. 

 

A green truck appears in the gathering dusk.

A forest ranger wielding a hockey stick

laden with plastic streamers shakes it overhead.

 

The bull bolts into the dark forest, afraid of anything

taller than himself.