Hunting

Last night the sky was that white-
blue color of milk
swirled in stainless pails,
the stars, delicate
footprints of ouzels
on river-bottom sand.
We watched through the bedroom window
the Little Dipper spill
moonlight on the face
of big Grassy Mountain.

And I thought of all that whiskey,
hard love, those bull elk bedded down
up there in shadows.
That slope will get us winter meat,
Bernice, I said. And her name, Bernice,
sounded like a place, a town
somewhere. Imagine touching the heart
of each star, she said, like a bee
feels a tree full of blossoms.
Bernice. Like Venice, or Venus.

Rock ‘N’ Rowel CDs are available from the Western Folklife Center (phone 775-738-7508, ext 2) and CD Baby.

© Paul Zarzyski. All rights reserved. These words may not be reprinted or reposted without the author's written permission.