DO YOU KILL FOR "SPORT"?
Remorse
A hunter shot at a flock of geese
That few within his reach.
Two were stopped in their rapid flight
And fell on the sandy beach.
The male bird lay at the water's edge
And just before he died,
He faintly called to his wounded mate
And she dragged herself to his side.
She bent her head and crooned to him
In a way distressed and wild,
Caressing her one and only mate
As a mother would a child.
Then covering him with her broken wing
And gasping with failing breath
She laid her head against his breast
A feeble honk - then death.
This story is true though crudely told.
I was the man in this case.
I stood knee-deep in snow and cold
And the hot tears burned my face.
I buried the birds in the sand where they lay
Wrapped in my hunting coat.
And I threw my gun and belt in the bay
When I crossed in the open boat.
Hunters will call me a right poor sport
And scoff at the thing I did.
But that day something broke in my heart,
And shoot again? God forbid!
by Truman P. Reitmeyer, Philadelphia
A Sense of a Goose
When you see geese flying along in "V" formation, you
might consider what science has discovered as to why they
fly that way. As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an
uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in "V"
formation, the whole flock adds at least 71 percent greater
flying range than if each bird flew on its own.
People who share a common direction and sense of
community can get where they are going more quickly and
easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one
another.
When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels
the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone - and
quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the
lifting power of the bird in front.
If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in
formation with those people who are headed the same way we
are.
When the head goose gets tired, it rotates back in the
wing and another goose flies point.
It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs,
whether with people or with geese flying south.
Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to
keep up their speed.
What messages do we give when we honk from behind?
Finally - and this is important - when a goose gets
sick or is wounded by gunshot, and falls out of formation,
two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down
to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose
until it is able to fly or until it dies, and only then do
they launch out on their own, or with another formation to
catch up with their group.
If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each
other like that.
By Source Unknown
from Condensed Chicken Soup for the Soul
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