Cindy St. John
NATURE SHOW
Listen as the sound comes closer, it’s the howling of either a coyote or a frat boy. Walking through the forest I am aware of all the sounds and which ones could possibly be human and/or a very large animal. I jump at the sound of a chipmunk jumping from one branch to the next. I am stepping on a carpet of lush moss which is a lovely feeling like this is an enchanted forest. I am trying not to step on mushrooms and later I will google mushrooms thinking about how cool I would be—a real nature woman—if I could distinguish the edible from the poisonous and gather some good ones to make a risotto and I could post a picture of my cooking for everyone to see. I decide it is too risky and I’m already taking a risk out here in the woods alone. I am not wearing camouflage but a bright red blouse with ruffles so the animals will know I do not belong here. I find a large cat-like paw print in the swampy part of the trail that looks like it was involved in a chase after smaller prints and think it is a cougar but decide it is probably a coyote. Later I will google cougars and mountain lions and find out that they are approximately 115-160 lbs but can be as large as 250 lbs and have a paw print about the size of a human hand. I will look at a photograph of a man struggling to hold a large cougar that was hit by a car in a different part of the country. I will learn that officially cougars are said to be extinct in this part of the country but officials will admit off the record there are a few roaming around. I think about documenting the paw print and bringing it in for evidence and everyone thinking I am a real woman of the wilds because I know a cougar print when I see one. I decide not to because it is probably just a coyote and then I would be embarrassed. I continue on the hike and nothing much of interest happens after spotting the cougar and checking for ticks but I write this poem called “Taking a Hike in Someone Else’s Dream Vacation.”
I become
impossible
I hold up
my human hand