Wild Rice Tree Stand; Closure

Wild Rice Tree Stand; Closure

Again, I walked across the chunky, dirt field towards the tree,
Moses, the German Shepherd, stayed back away from me.
Hooking my rifle to a cord, I ascended, then, after tethering my harness, I drew it up.
I engaged my gun, ammo ready, safety on,
Waiting, watching, for any kind of movement.
A small blue-winged bird hopped around, pecking at the trees on both sides of me,
Bobbing, like a drinking bird toy until he flew away.
A couple squirrels rustled the leaves,
The moon, nearly full, began to rise from the east,
The river glistened as I looked to the west, until the sun nearly set,
I almost descended, as dusk began,
The woods were still, so I glanced across the barren field.
Amazingly, along the treeline, a buck grazed,
Nearly eighty yards away, I peered through my scope,
Reassuring my gaze that he was indeed an antlered buck,
I shot and missed, he stood tall, and statue-still,
My second shot, I later learned, entered both shoulders,
The next shot hit his liver, as he lay on the ground,
I shot my final round, which missed,
As he kicked, then layed down.
I texted, then lowered my gun,
My ambiguious feelings of the hunt Intertwined,
In my mind.
A creature so beautiful, graceful and alive, one moment,
Then, due to my actions, he lay so still, without further movement.
His eyes, reflecting the setting sun,
Glared at me, sadly, as my mind fully registered what I had just done.

Aurora, CO;Happily Returned

Aurora, Colorado; Happily Returned By Valerie J Laidlaw We moved my brother, towards the end of December, in seventy-three, To Colorado, where rental places, we found to be scarce, In accepting, a …

Source: Aurora, CO;Happily Returned

Aurora, CO;Happily Returned

Aurora, Colorado; Happily Returned
By Valerie J Laidlaw

We moved my brother, towards the end of December, in seventy-three,
To Colorado, where rental places, we found to be scarce,
In accepting, a young couple, with a baby.
He’d joined the Air Force, finishing basic training, first,
As college placed second, to their need for clothing, shelter, hunger, and thirst.
On the way back, the weather grew wicked and fierce, blowing downward through the plains.
A blizzard dumped snow, and the strong wind carved massive drifts between the valleys, hills, and drains.
Herds of cattles huddled frozen together against ridges for shelter.
We crept onward slowly, driving blind, in the vicious storm’s swelter.
Just in time, we approached a little town,
As the patrolmen signaled us, informing us that the road ahead was closed down.
The motels had no vacancies left to be found.
As some kind strangers led us around.
A church welcomed us, and opened its doors,
So we gracously slept, in its aisles, on the floor.
As the coarse weather subsided, and the stained glass windows glowed,
A humble caravan of cars, like gypsies, crept out, crossing a desert of snow.
The strong shoveled paths for our tires on the road,
One vehicle crossed at a time, with its load.
As we crossed further on, I sat up front with my dad,
And, I experienced one of the scariest experiences of my life, that I have ever had.
The road followed the carved path approaching a high grade,
A sharp, left turn towards the edge, steering with the wheel my dad made,
Followed by a sharp hairpin turn to the right in the groove the men’s shovels had laid.
Any small slip or falter, we would’ve plunged over the edge of the cliff, into a ravine.
In that “slow motion” moment, my entire, young life flashed past, in that scene.
We returned up the middle of the next two states to our own,
My life, it continued, and through faith, I am now safe, and fully grown,
This story reminds me, whenever I need a lift,
Each day, and each moment, in life is a gift.

Aurora, CO;Happily Returned

Aurora, Colorado; Happily Returned
By Valerie J Laidlaw

We moved my brother, towards the end of December, in seventy-three,
To Colorado, where rental places, we found to be scarce,
In accepting, a young couple, with a baby.
He’d joined the Air Force, finishing basic training, first,
As college placed second, to their need for clothing, shelter, hunger, and thirst.
On the way back, the weather grew wicked and fierce, blowing downward through the plains.
A blizzard dumped snow, and the strong wind carved massive drifts between the valleys, hills, and drains.
Herds of cattles huddled frozen together against ridges for shelter.
We crept onward slowly, driving blind, in the vicious storm’s swelter.
Just in time, we approached a little town,
As the patrolmen signaled us, informing us that the road ahead was closed down.
The motels had no vacancies left to be found.
As some kind strangers led us around.
A church welcomed us, and opened its doors,
So we gracously slept, in its aisles, on the floor.
As the coarse weather subsided, and the stained glass windows glowed,
A humble caravan of cars, like gypsies, crept out, crossing a desert of snow.
The strong shoveled paths for our tires on the road,
One vehicle crossed at a time, with its load.
As we crossed further on, I sat up front with my dad,
And, I experienced one of the scariest experiences of my life, that I have ever had.
The road followed the carved path approaching a high grade,
A sharp, left turn towards the edge, steering with the wheel my dad made,
Followed by a sharp hairpin turn to the right in the grove the men’s shovels had laid.
Any small slip or falter, we would’ve plunged over the edge of the cliff, into a ravine.
In that “slow motion” moment, my entire, young life flashed past, in that scene.
We returned up the middle of the next two states to our own,
My life, it continued, and through faith, I am now safe, and fully grown,
This story reminds me, whenever I need a lift,
Each day, and each moment, in life is a gift.

Grateful Heart

Grateful Heart
By Valerie J Laidlaw

Years ago, on a Christmas break morn,
I awoke twice early, with my second born.
We delivered the newspapers of those days,
We looked up as the skies lit up, both amazed.
The Northern Lights greeted us with rippled, illuminated, colorful streaks,
Both of us, breathless,
Neither he nor I stopped our mission,
As neither of us could find words to speak.
Afterwards, I lay down, till dawn broke the day.
I woke up with a numbness, yet, a hypersensitive pain.
Afraid, never before had I experienced this feeling,
Unable to walk, no strength, not knowing with what I was dealing.
Scared, I called my mom who joined me to the emergency room,
A Doctor spoke of MS, lifelong “friends” reacted to me speaking of a fate of doom.
With my mom in neuropsych, a doctor spoke rudely about giving up to die,
My mom snapped angrily back to him wanting to punch him in the eye,
She knew I sought answers, to know what courses of action to try,
I wasn’t about to give up, cower, take pity on myself, or cry.
I was so glad she took the time off to be there,
to drive me for my lab tests, and an MRI.
Later, after treatments, gradually rebuilding my strength,
I learned I had “Gillian Barre Syndrome” during that time of length.
Fortunate was I, and grateful to my mom,
The one person in my life I could back then always rely upon.
Nowadays, when I know that she is suffering, yet, I am unable to hold her hand, and come help her,
It is my hope, that she feels love from my grateful heart, sent in prayers, always and forever.

Brief Encounter

Brief Encounter The squirrel approached with caution and fear, The hunter winked back, as he was there for the deer. With each chattering chirp, the squrrel’s tail, he would twitch, Until a t…

Source: Brief Encounter

Huntergal Val III

Wild Rice Tree Stand; Closure Again, I walked across the chunky, dirt field towards the tree, Moses, the German Shepherd, stayed back away from me. Hooking my rifle to a cord, I ascended, then, aft…

Source: Huntergal Val III

Huntergal Val II

Wild Rice Tree Stand; Sunset The huntergal arrives on the eve another day. She climbs up into a camouflaged tower, As she patiently waits, for nearly an hour. Across the meadow, a young doe zig-zag…

Source: Huntergal Val II

Huntergal Val II

Wild Rice Tree Stand; Sunset The huntergal arrives on the eve another day. She climbs up into a camouflaged tower, As she patiently waits, for nearly an hour. Across the meadow, a young doe zig-zag…

Source: Huntergal Val II

Huntergal Val

Wild Rice Tree Stand; Season Opener Glancing through a network of leafless branches, The steady stream of the gently, curving river is interrupted by a young doe foraging through from one muddy sho…

Source: Huntergal Val