At Day's End the Forest Loomed Untamed

I remember the relief of daybreak when all seemed right with the world after spending a night camping outdoors.

At Day's End the Forest Loomed Untamed

A giant claw, pointy, witchy, reaches

through the underbrush, snagging

whatever it can. Unseen water raking

shoreline stones, or a fish showering shards

breaching, raises gooseflesh on necks,

startles city dwellers more in tune with night's

madness in an urban center: car alarms, sirens,

cat howls.

The "old" hands chuckle at the innocents,

inflate tales of marauding bears.

Early morning aura dispels the tarriness

that cloaks objects. Billowy clouds

no longer sinister, pines and oaks sober,

the bay subdued.

The talon? A wind driven branch fallen,

innocent in daylight turned menacing fodder

for campfire teasing.

But fresh paw prints renew sundown's vagary.

Marilyn Aschoff Mellor