Stuffed Animals and Small Men

Kaileen Campbell

He says

he stepped through the woods.

His feet falling on

the leaves of trees. A man

seeing through his gun.

He looked to pull another deer from its skin.

He sowed this tale into my young ears. How he walked

into a perch 

to be cradled by a tree

and two red ears heard anew. He said he put out his hand

and it taught a fox into movement 

by inches

until its nose met a new friend.

Then his gun

sang to its head.