The Demon’s elk from its lair." Runo 14, Kalevala
MOOSE AT THE CEMETERY
at the Park Cemetery
a yearling, 700 pounds
sent away by her mother
back in the nearby dark woods
wanders among the gravestones
on Memorial Day
she laps at the lily pond
where white swans used to glide
where snapping turtles sun
stands safe on a small island
admirers with cameras
edge closer, ever closer
the DNR can’t trap her
she is too big for their slings
the newspaper editor
warns to keep our distance
because she is scared and kicks
the crowd ignores these warnings
a fat woman in gray shirt
old Polaroid slung on straps
steps up military-crisp
the very edge of the pond
to take her instant memory
the moose’s pendant ears twitch
then, like a knobby filly
all gangly legs, shoulder hump
she flees to the wooded parts
how she waded, thigh deep
then leaped to the other bank
how she ran, gliding, loping
fleeing her celebrity
trailed across hills of tombstones
by local paparazzi.
how I also feel lost, as I pray
for the souls of dead relatives
how I seek sheltered U.P. woods
til I wade in the water
© 2005 Jane Piirto All Rights
Reserved
