Sleepless

last night I awoke from a shallow sleep to hear a house at being ripped apart

Its legs filleted by cat claws; a hunk of cheek meat drooping bloodily off the face

The fangs having made homes in the eyes and ears, iris fluid leaking out onto the gasping wet shiny face, now flapping with torn ears

And the sound. The sound of two lives ending at the will of snother. The shame of a hunter animal who has been surprised made into a shrieking growl

I shone my light outside, afraid to see the blood after hitting a small deer in my car left my crying in the forest floor, and not eating meat for months

And when the light made it through the glare in the window and focused on my dark backyard I saw it

Two raccoons making love

And I think of my own love and me, our privacy and integrity to make whatever sounds we choose

So animal to animal I turn off the light, and try to fall asleep amid the sound