The Mockingbird

Tap. Tap. My foot touched the rusted wood plane of the deck and then peeked its nose into the air as I watched a mockingbird fly into the bird house that I had made so proudly last fall. It wasn't the first encounter that I'd had with the mangy varmint. The fluttering moocher had been pecking away at my grandpa's freshly ripened tomato plants for weeks, but now he was finally in for it.

The breeze danced with
the weeping willows while I
quietly recalled the exact
details of my plan.
With a gun in one hand,
and bear mace in the other,
I no longer felt weak.
I was a man.

Retreating to a dead bush just feet from the location of the mockingbird, I made sure my Red Ryder BB gun was loaded and ready to rid the world of the tomato stealing beast. I wasn't sure if the bear mace would be any help, but I attached it to my belt anyways. Besides, I wasn't about to let the miscreant get away without a fight.

Sweat from my eyebrow
dripped and fell,
onto a rock that was shaped
like a decapitated head.
My nerves were unsettled
and splattered with gray,
I wouldn't be satisfied
until the mockingbird was dead.

I stalked the bird from a hole in the bush that was decayed as a result of the summer heat. For ten minutes, I procrastinated the attack, but finally forced myself to make a move. Raising the gun and steadying it against my shoulder, I looked through the peep sight and aimed directly at the mockingbird's head.

My index finger was trembling
as I caressed the trigger,
and tried to calm myself
before I finally shot.
The bird was quite still
while my finger slipped
and the projectile was fired
but hit the mockingbird, not.

In a fit of rage, I charged the mockingbird at full speed. Fleeing from danger in an aggressive manner, the bird flew in a circle above my head as I batted my arms wildly. A wet and sticky substance landed on me, and I curled into a ball crying while the mockingbird sat in the bird house, squawking. He was also curled into a ball, mocking me.

Defeated, but not done.
This fight has just begun.
The mockingbird will not win,
I must find strength from within.

(Look for Part Two soon)