running with blesbok in the rain

by Michelle McGrane

i am running a slippery uneven park trail,
unfit as hell, through mist and drizzle,
senses filled only with pounding

feet against hard, wet earth,
water dripping off leaves.

grasping pepper spray fist-tight,
i entertain sporadic thoughts
of being pounced upon
by persons of ill-intent.
i hope inclement weather
will prove a detractor.

a gleaming side flicker catches my eye,
movement in the surrounding bush—

horned crowns, striated brown-white faces
move through foliage
shining slick,

delicate hooves job-trotting,
blesbok canter graceful alongside.

red face dripping, out of breath,
don't know how much longer
i can keep up the pace,

but this company is worth keeping.