“
Prose is architecture, not interior decoration.
”
A Man and his Dog
DescriptionWicklow Mountains
| |
On an icy winter’s morning
in the Wicklow mountains
a lone man stalks the land,
his hound shadows him.
He moves cautiously
approaching a clearing
where pine forests give way
to heather-covered hills.
Alert to movement,
he steps into position.
The dog stands stock still,
his nose quivers the icy air.
Slipping the rifle from his shoulder,
he aims through bare branches
pulls the trigger,
his retriever darts forward.
Dragging the carcass of a Sika,
he trudges through the woods.
He passes tree trunks
oozing with infection,
stripped of bark,
the reason for the cull.
The deer hunter lives a solitary life
in an isolated cottage
nestled deep in the mountains.
A devoted keeper of the deer,
his only true friend, his dog.
Comments
Tuesday, 24th January 2012 | 04:16 pm
Hi Smurf,
There is something ancient indeed about the job of a deer keeper and this man is real and lives in the depths of the Wicklow mountains. I don't know him personally but I was listening to a person talk about him last week. I guess his life up there is fairly pared back, just him and his dog and he has a little farm of chickens and farm animals and a plot where he grows his own food etc. He is completely self sufficient, or almost. I was fascinated listening to someone talk about his life and I had to write about it. It seemed so primitive in these times but I don't feel there is anything wrong with that. I could do with a retreat to the mountains myself at times LOL. I used to shoot years ago when it was not frowned upon but I could not kill anything today. I can see myself as the deer hunter in my dreams but probably would not last more than a week.
Maire x
Tuesday, 24th January 2012 | 08:56 pm
Wednesday, 25th January 2012 | 12:54 am
Wednesday, 25th January 2012 | 02:38 am
Maire, I love your writing! This piece is really beautiful, maybe because I crave solitude at times (as you say, you could do with some, we all could). You brought me through those trees, I could hear the dog bark, the rustle of the trees and indeed that beautiful smell of forest.
Long may you continue to write .
Much love and respect, Colette
Wednesday, 25th January 2012 | 10:34 am
Wednesday, 25th January 2012 | 10:45 am
Colette,
Thank you for your lovely comments. So glad this was visual for you, I had a photo and could not get it to paste but the poem hopefully did the job. Thank you for your kind wishes. This is a good community, together we can strive to keep it good
Love and friendship Maire x
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Tuesday, 24th January 2012 | 03:25 pm
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