Hunter
Jeanne Blum Lesinski
Twenty feet up the hunter sits,
strapped in, hidden like a burl
on the rough white oak bark.
The crows and jays call no alarm.
Through the decaying leaves,
a racoon shuffles, noses around,
passes without an upward glance.
Leaves rustle in the distance, then closer.
A ground squirrel dashes up the oak,
up the trunk of the hunter’s leg,
over the bow-holding arm, shoulder.
After its prey, the bobcat sprints upward,
until its amber eyes meet a downward stare.
It flattens its tufted ears, growl-hisses.
The fly sting of the broadhead’s tap
on its tawny velvet nose sends
the hunter back to its secretive life.
About the Author
Jeanne Blum Lesinski is a poet and memoirist in the wild, unaffiliated with any institution or school of thought. Her works have appeared in journals and anthologies, including Quartet, Pink Panther, MUSE and Literary Mama. Her poetry collection Tethers End debuted from Shanti Arts in 2023. Find her at jeanneblumlesinskiwriter.com.