In the cold
The hunter
With gun waits
Early snow
Shows deer tracks
They will come
Buck walks near
Wait for doe
Can’t eat horns
It will be deer season for firearms in Indiana starting in a couple days. My former and sometimes still current coworker, Mr. Fudd, has been talking about deer hunting. He now has 2 of 3 kids old enough to take part in the youth hunt. He is a very conscientious hunter. “If you aren’t going to eat it don’t kill it” is his mantra. His other oft repeated words of wisdom are, “You can’t eat antlers.” He put in for the lottery to get a slot for a reduction hunt at a county park – he didn’t get picked. In fact he put in for several lotteries and didn’t get chosen. He is now negotiating to hunt on some private property. He would go to the public areas but not with the kids – too many overly zealous trigger happy drunks. Anyway he is hoping to get at least 2 deer this year. If he gets more than 2 then I just might be the recipient of some venison! To that end I’ve been clearing out a small area of my freezer…
The above poem is a TriCube poem. It is a form with some very rigid rules. It must have 3 stanzas of 3 lines each. The lines must have 3 syllables each. Fortunately there are no rules for meter or rhyme!
A Different Perspective 
Great poem, great backstory, Val. Another form for me to try, thanks for introducing. 🙂
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Thanks Kitty! I know that hunting is a controversial activity for many. When done for the sake of putting food on the table, where there is no waste, and the rules are followed, I have no problem. I think the tricube is an interesting form – it forces you to be concise and carefully choose words – no room for fluff!
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That’s true, Val. 🙂
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🙂
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Love it. I can’t imagine myself going hunting… I don’t really want to kill a deer (and deer meat isn’t kosher)… but I can imagine the excitement, and I don’t have anything against it morally.
Your poem actually reminds me of a musette that I wrote (do you remember this one?)
https://skepticskaddish.com/2021/07/20/doe-eyed-or-bucking-expectations/
❤
David
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Thanks David. There is less excitement than you would imagine. There is a touch of pride in stocking the freezer for the winter but the work involved of prepping the animal and hauling it out of the woods/brush kind of takes the thrill out of the equation. At least for my friend it is all about the meat. His brother and uncle (who has stopped due to age) will hunt for trophies. The nice part of that was that the meat was given to Mr. Fudd and he would share with me… The caribou was very tasty as was the elk, venison, and pheasant.
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I have enjoyed gifts of game meat as well. and appreciate responsible hunters like Mr. Fudd. I read an article many years ago that mentioned how deer populations have exploded since the decline of hunting in North America, and the explosion of their habitat (grassy areas and grain fields). We need their numbers reduced, but not by drunken “deer campers”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLnmA653f94
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Yeah. That’s why Mr. Fudd is hesitant to take the kids out on public lands. He applied for the reduction hunts but didn’t get picked (it is a lottery system). He uses almost all parts of the deer – I think one year he made knife handles from leg bones and buttons from horns…
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The connection between killing and pleasure is so foreign to me that I can’t even enjoy reading about it. That said, I would guess that the lean meat from an animal that fed itself on nature’s bounty would be a good source of protein.
If I were to write a poem about deer hunting, it would include the peril to the mountain biker absorbed in the beauty of the early morning ride through the forest. I like the way your poem dispassionately paints a stark picture of the “sport” of hunting.
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Thanks Judy! I know that hunting is fast becoming a thing of the past and the sensibilities of many can be offended. That is also why we chose not to geocache in an area – too many hunters shooting at anything that moves! My friend doesn’t see it as sport – he sees it as putting food on the table. He went through many “lean” years when what he ate was what he fished, hunted, or trapped. At one point he was selling blood plasma to make ends meet. Now he’s reached a pay grade where that isn’t as much an issue – but he still hunts and fishes as a supplement – he’s banking as much as he can for retirement…
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Two or three deers for only one hunnter, Val ? Very much . Perhaps does he is hunting in using an helicopter?? 😉
Love ❤
Michel
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No helicopter! He has a tree stand for when he hunts in the bow season and a blind for muzzle loader and rifle seasons… There are years that he doesn’t get any deer. Getting 3 would be a major coup. I think he is hoping one of the kids gets one! He has the freezer room and if there is over flow I’ve got some room in mine! hehe!
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A hunter is also a dreamer . I wish hiis dreams come true and you got your part on deer, Val ! 🙂
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It has been a couple years since he’s gotten more than one… I’m always hopeful that this year will be the lucky year!
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I like Mr. Fudd’s rules for hunting — at least the first one, in which he hunts only for food. I’m not sure I understand the other rule — I would have thought the bucks would have as much or more meat, though perhaps the added trophy is too much for him.
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They are bigger but the meat is not as tender and is more “gamey” – partly due to the testosterone… Due to his bad feet and a back problem, he prefers the smaller and more tender deer. He figures that since you can’t eat antlers it doesn’t make sense to just hunt bucks when he has more tags for does…
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We did not get chosen for the lottery either. We are hoping to fill the freezer with meat. Right now with the sky rocketing meat prices some deer meat would be welcomed.
Sorry I have not commented in a while. I had to go in an refollow to see post.
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No problem! I just figured that you were super busy and on the road! I hope Wrangler can steal away from work long enough to go hunting and get a deer! Mr. Fudd has already been squirrel hunting and rabbit hunting too. But he rarely shared those tasty morsels…
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We will make time.
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That’s good to hear! Making time for things you enjoy makes life sweet!!
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We have to or we would burn out.
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Yes. Taking “me” time always is refreshing. Hope you are lucky and you both get a deer!
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Thank you.
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🙂
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I prefer game meat but… Hunting here is operated the same way. In a few weeks there will be population reduction out at my refuge, but in the remote areas away from where I walk with my dogs.
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Without the top predators to thin the herds of the old and the stupid, they tend to destroy their habitat… Venison is delicious when prepared properly. Sadly many have lost the knowledge to cook game meats and thus they don’t enjoy eating them. Also there is a big difference between a farm turkey and a wild one… But it is all tasty!! Be sure to wear some blaze orange anyway! Especially on the dogs!
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My father was a gentleman hunter in our Catskill woods. I always believe he liked being in the woods for the season but he did not have the heart to pull the trigger on the deer. Now for a bear, or other animals, he would or even a human species predator. Venison meat is good, so I understand it is acquired taste and one less acquired in some parts of the world.
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That is fine for him but that breaks the first rule – don’t kill it if you aren’t going to eat it!
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If you don’t need to kill and have enough money to buy meat at the store is what he was thinking. My dad was a tough guy but he had a soft heart for beauty. He followed his own rules but if we were in danger he would not hesitate to pull the trigger. He learned this rule early.
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Murisopsis, it is a cardinal secret I disclosed…he went hunting to enjoy being alone in nature.
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🙂
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another interesting form to try Val, thank you for this. i am also intrigued by the deer hunting…as i have not even seen a deer in real life,,,
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We are overrun – had a herd of them mosey down the street… Of course there is no hunting permitted in residential areas. I think the deer knew that! They ate all my tulips so I don’t plant them anymore – fortunately all our trees are mature so they aren’t stripping the bark off and killing the trees…
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interesting form thanks Val … difficult to imagine you have such a surplus of deer!
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There are tons of them. Some folks even feed them (even though they are not supposed to). When winter forage gets scarce they will eat shrubs and strip bark from trees – several neighbors lost landscape bushes to hungry deer. Of course the only reason that happens is when the population exceeds the amount of food being put out and, well, there are all these tasty shrubberies just right there!
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ah a deers delight!
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And that’s why the reduction hunts are so necessary!
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I enjoy venison when I can get it. Killing to eat verses just for fun is huge.
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There are many who eschew all meat/animal derived nutrition but eating a purely vegan diet is expensive if you are getting all the nutrition you need. I do believe Mr. Fudd’s approach – don’t kill it if you aren’t going to eat it!! I’ve got a venison steak left in the freezer – I’m going to save it for a special occasion!
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I get my venison ground, from the local Meat Company, these days. I do remember when the bow hunters brought home an elk, and as friends of that family, we were given a small share.
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I do enjoy some venison when I can get it! It is a treat since I don’t hunt…
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