THE HUNT:
THE GOOD SISTER
A GOOD MOTHER


There was a time
When I was angry with God
Because he made me a lion
I wanted to be an eagle

I always was
Getting in trouble at school
For bullying other animals
My father would be called in
And the teacher
Would give him the reports
On my bad behavior
Since dad believed
In the commandments
Of the Holy Instincts
—Something about “love is correction”—
He would exercise those precepts
On my feline body

Back then I didn’t comprehend
My structure
And I would play rough
With my classmates
I didn’t understand
Why they were afraid of me
But I did feel bad about it
I would always stop
When they would cry in pain
Their 4 furry little legs
Would shake

Our first attempt to imitate the king
Was hunting without supervision
On prohibited grounds
My brother and I thought
It would be a good idea
To go into papa’s lair
And take his hunting secrets
Out of their hiding place
He always thought we didn’t know
Where he hid his grownup things
But we always knew

When nobody was around
Usually at night
We would hunt the streets of our jungle
It was exhilarating to watch dogs
Run for their lives
We would fire away
That raw knowledge
But we would always miss
Those canines ran fast
We were fortunate that our disobedience
Didn’t cause any fatalities
Perhaps we can still find the memories
Of those efforts
Engraved on walls
Of elementary schools

It was later on that I understood
Hunting is the art of survival
Territorial protection
Nutritious food for family members
Exercise and enjoyment
For friends and love ones
Like with anything
Hunting gets easier with practice
Since hunting is work
Sometimes it is not fun
But it’s always necessary

The first kill
Is the hardest
Because your knees shake
But as you eat more and get stronger
The shaking subsides
You also learn to kill friends
That become foes
Not out of sport
But out of necessity
When they are too big
Such as a hippopotamus
The easiest way is to chase them
And make them trip
Using their biggest asset against them
Overweight animals tend to
Brake their necks when they fall

If the hippo dies in the water
You must use extreme caution
When entering to retrieve it
Sometimes lion hunters
—Usually doctors—
Can be hiding in camouflage
Waiting with 30’06’s
For someone like you
To get in the river