"Decrescendo" by Gary Fox

It’s good to be quick

with sharp eyes. The six

pointer slipped

into the tall grass

at the edge of the grove. When

I unzipped my backpack

to notate the

simple grace now

concealed. The velvet raised,

a startled huff, a rustle

of green, white tail,

bright tan body

leaped and sprinted

into loblolly pines.

The rest of my walk was

mid-July sweat

swinging my hat

wiping guts

off the wet

of my neck. Ponds were

mud cracked dry

waiting for fall and rain.

Gary Fox has published in Toho Journal, The Shore, High Shelf Press, Struggle Magazine, Cathexis Northwest Press, Sea To Sky Review, The Dewdrop, and Union Spring