I push my way through raw wilderness.
Cutting through the heart of the jungle to the bait pile.
Something has been here recently.
Tracks fresh as a mountain stream.
I stop!

Nature so quiet you can hear a leaf fall.
I find a spot for my treestand.
I climb a pine sixty feet tall.
I strap myself to the tree.
I stop!

Breath so cold I could see the condensation.
The forest is a painting that came to life.
Time standing still.
I can almost see the grass growing.
I stop!

Crack, snap, pop, branches snap.
The king of the forest emerges.
A black bear stands on his hind legs,
Looking eye to eye.
I stop!

In the crosshairs, my heart about to burst.
My heart pounds as if my soul is trying to escape.
I squeeze the trigger until I hear, Bang.
Looking at what I did.
I stop!

I pray, thanking God for feeding my family.
I clean the bear, wasting nothing.
Now I begin the  trip home.
I make it home bloody and battered.
I stop!