by Christopher Schnieders
Went to El Centro with the men in my family
down by the Calexico border
and the mountains of Mexicali.
We woke before four AM,
ate cereal, fruit,
drank coffee and orange juice.
Hunters on opening day.
We found a pre-sunrise empty spot
that was our choice territory
and watched the light arrive.
Been hunting all my life
and never seen such a mass of birds
covering the morning sky.
It was beautiful,
a hunter’s dream
and ain’t that a bird’s nightmare.
I focused on a bead and pulled the trigger.
A dove fell to the earth on my right,
looked into my eyes and we knew the world,
fifteen feet of knowing, then dead.
See you in transition,
my fair feathered friend,
when I will be a Bird
and you that man with the shotgun.
I have killed and I am alive.
Watched life expire and I am alive.
Seen my sister go.
Seen my mother go.
Seen a dove go.
And I am your friend.
Troubled, damaged and happy as fuck.
Loving barbecued ribs so much
that I might as well shoot a pig.
Oh, intelligent pig
where do we go when we die?
*Photo courtesy Picture Perfect Pose.