"Hunter's Moon"
by Anthony Roberts
Under the Hunter’s Moon deer in rut
strut and scrape through the trees
and fields that surround me as I stand dumbly bathed in white light
This night brings the eulogy of another summer spoken in the yips and howls of coyotes now forced to hunt rather than pick off the fat slow easy prey of July with its long days
The spirits of the Lenape who were forced to make way for what eventually became a four bedroom two and a half bath with paved driveway
laugh at the irony of colonists who live in colonials
The hunters themselves sit in tree stand or behind blinds peering through netting though a few know what it is to be hunted they’re the ones whose guns will be found to be empty
there is thrill in the stalk
there is thrill in the track
but when your stomach is full
there’s no joy in the trigger pull
on something that can’t shoot back
The wild dons autumn and her kaleidoscopic gown
the promise of the white clad winter surrounds
my feet feel strange standing on soft unpaved ground
long since domesticated I turn back toward town
Anthony Roberts is a veteran of Baltimore and Afghanistan. He currently lives in New Jersey in a home with beautiful views and interlocking fields of fire.
He is the author of Pigtown and The Clearing Barrel.
You can follow him here.
Sponsored by iHeartRadio, Believe Love Respect and their new BLR Cider, WPDH Vets That Rock, Legoland, Chronogram, Wallkill Savings and Loan, Red Clover Coffee, Havok Journal and so many more - the Savage Wonder Festival of veterans in the arts is coming on May 29! Have you gotten your tickets yet?
Want the best date night possible this Saturday night? Drinks, dessert, a hilarious live performance, professional actors, an intimate unforgettable space, pay-what-you-can tickets…it simply does not get better than this. So come on out and join us at our Parlor on Quaker Avenue for our staged reading of David Ives’ All in the Timing.
We have never not been sold out, so you’re welcome to try to show up and hope for a cancellation. But if you really want to see the show, why not book now and save yourself the uncertainty?