A Brave Struggle

A Brave Struggle
(A Baby Antelope)

The first thing I see
Are two big brown eyes
Staring into the distance
At something that is despised

My mother, as I had realized,
Got up and started to nudge me
I stood and stared at the proud eyes
But my legs were to wobbly

I fell back down
But I tried again
The stranger close
But my mother did defend

Her eyes full of worry
The brown mixed with hope
I struggled again
The animal moved down the slope

What was this strange beast
He came on two legs
His other limbs carrying
A large black stick

I heard a loud noise
So sharp it cracked the sky
The stranger jolted back
One of the beasts fell nearby

The herd began to run
I saw more on the ridge of the hill
We were escaping the men with the gun
Kneeling as they aimed to kill

More fell to the ground
Their carcass's still and silent
The adrenaline rise, pushed me
My legs moving away from the violence

In a split second,
My mother was beside me
We raced to the tree line
The gunman watched us flee

We had escaped
I looked at my mother
The love in her eyes
Was like no other

We lay down to sleep
With the rest of the herd
In our dreams
The shooting could still be heard

By G.H.