Mentors and Monsters

It used to be
that the deepest cold
I'd known
was at age 10
hunting
with my father
in the darkest time
of morning.
I prayed
for a premature sunrise
to a god I still believed in
and mistook every squirrel
crashing through leaves
for a buck.

There are people
cropped and cornered
who are watching
for your fall.

Make them wait.