John Vanderslice Forest Knolls
we were unprepared
by rights we should have been aware
with bow and flint and arrow
there were three deer outside the window
my father's father would've known
how to pull that wire and steady the bow
send that arrow into her beating heart
how to cut her and use every part
we've got food for weeks and weeks
and all that blood would find its way to the carpet
sitting there I couldn't shake that guilt
as the deer walked free up the hill
