The Bull Moose

Down from the purple mist of trees on the mountain,

lurching through forests of white spruce and cedar,

stumbling through tamarack swamps,

came the bull moose

to be stopped at last by a pole-fenced pasture.

Too tired to turn or, perhaps, aware

there was no place left to go, he stood with the cattle.

They, scenting the musk of death, seeing his great head

like the ritual mask of a blood god, moved to the other end

of the field, and waited.

The neighbours heard of it, and by afternoon

cars lined the road. The children teased him

with alder switches and he gazed at them

like an old, tolerant collie. The woman asked

if he could have escaped from a Fair.

The oldest man in the parish remembered seeing

a gelded moose yoked with an ox for plowing.

The young men snickered and tried to pour beer

down his throat, while their girl friends took their pictures.

And the bull moose let them stroke his tick-ravaged flanks,

let them pry open his jaws with bottles, let a giggling girl

plant a little purple cap

of thistles on his head.

When the wardens came, everyone agreed it was a shame

to shoot anything so shaggy and cuddlesome.

He looked like the kind of pet

women put to bed with their sons.

So they held their fire. But just as the sun dropped in the river

the bull moose gathered his strength

like a scaffolded king, straightened and lifted his horns

so that even the wardens backed away as they raised their rifles.

When he roared, people ran to their cars. All the young men

leaned on their automobile horns as he toppled.

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External links

Bat’s Poetry Page – more poetry by Fledermaus

Talking Writing Monster’s Page –

Batty Writing – the bat’s idle chatter, thoughts, ideas and observations, all original, all fresh

Poems in English 

• The Milk-Maid O’ The Farm by William Barnes by William Barnes
• The Mead A-Mow’d by William Barnes by William Barnes
• The Meäd In June by William Barnes by William Barnes
• The May-Tree by William Barnes by William Barnes
• The Maid Vor My Bride by William Barnes by William Barnes
• The Maid O’ Newton by William Barnes by William Barnes
• The Lovely Maïd Ov Elwell Meäd by William Barnes by William Barnes
• The Love Child by William Barnes by William Barnes
• The Little Worold by William Barnes by William Barnes
• The Linden On The Lawn by William Barnes by William Barnes
• The Lilac by William Barnes by William Barnes
• The Lew O’ The Rick by William Barnes by William Barnes
• The Leäne by William Barnes by William Barnes
• The Leädy’s Tower by William Barnes by William Barnes
• The Lark by William Barnes by William Barnes
• The Ivy by William Barnes by William Barnes
• The Hwomestead A-Vell Into Hand by William Barnes by William Barnes
• The Humstrum by William Barnes by William Barnes
• The Homestead by William Barnes by William Barnes
• The Hollow Woak by William Barnes by William Barnes

More external links (open in a new tab):

Russian Commerce Agency

Dealing Monster

Doska or the Board – write anything

Search engines:

Yandex – the best search engine for searches in Russian (and the best overall image search engine, in any language, anywhere)

Qwant – the best search engine for searches in French, German as well as Romance and Germanic languages.

Ecosia – a search engine that supposedly… plants trees

Duckduckgo – the real alternative and a search engine that actually works. Without much censorship or partisan politics.

Yahoo– yes, it’s still around, amazingly, miraculously, incredibly, but now it seems to be powered by Bing.

 

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