Danger In A National Forest Poem by Spock the Vegan

My two older brothers and their friends
usually didn't want me hanging around.
They talked about girls, and I was only fourteen.
Too young, so I was usually homebound.

Today was different, a special treat;
They invited me to go with them for a hike
up the canyon to the national forest.
There could be deer and many things to like.

Excitement filled the air as we hiked the mountain trail;
The sound of water over rocks that made the babbling brook,
The magnificence of the trees, the coolness of the canyon,
The feeling of acceptance for every step I took.

Out of the canyon we came,
where the sun's warmth was felt;
where the trail leveled out,
and birds and squirrels dwelt.

The brown log fence came into sight.
The national forest border we had found.
We all climbed over it, every single boy.
And then we heard it - the horrible sound!

The mountain lion growl is more like a scream,
A blood-curdling sound as everyone knows.
It can send fear throughout your whole body,
And freeze your muscles down to your toes.

Astonishment set in as I saw every other boy
Jump the fence and clear it by several inches.
Some did this with hardly any running start,
While my legs are not moving at all in my britches.

I was also surprised that not one boy looked back
As they ran down the trail from whence they came.
If I had run then and followed them down,
The big cat would no doubt have found me fair game.

Now what to do with a cougar 15 feet away?
I looked around for a defensive weapon but saw none.
I felt I must maintain eye contact with the big cat,
and prayed silently so I would not be overrun.

And then I saw it out of the corner of my eye -
A piece of a tree limb right there to my right.
Not too short, not too long, and just the right size.
How could I have not seen it? It is in plain sight.

I picked it up quickly and resumed eye contact.
Held it up over my head to make me look greater.
I saw that in a movie once or twice,
But I'm sure it was several years later.

After this standoff of a minute or so,
The cougar decided it was time to go.
He hissed out a warning then jumped on the fence,
Then down to the ground and ran off hence.

Suddenly the situation had changed.
The boys not looking back would not see
That the mountain lion was coming after them,
And was not staying back with me.

Quickly I scaled the forest fence, and with stick
in hand ran after the mountain cat.
After about a city block he took a side trail going up,
I never saw him again, and that was that.

Shortly I spotted the other boys
and shouted for them to wait.
One named Rex expressed his shame
For not knowing that I was left to my fate.

That was a beginning of a friendship.
Dealings with him in the past had not been fun.
Let's forget about the hurts of the past;
Things have worked out, what's over is dunn.