Death of the Antelope

The hills meant to afford safety
but the ground was soft and progress slow

The trees could have provided cover,
instead they were a spot for a hunter to hide

Rifle raised and pointed at the muscle of its neck
As his thought directed his finger there and he moved

a centimeter the eye of the antelope lit up its
central nervous spring and its legs lifted its

vulnerable body into the air as the first bullet travelled
under its belly and it accelerated away before the hunter had noticed

this antelope died a natural death, from old age
and its seventy grandchildren had learned from it