Poem - "A Fall Homecoming at Horseshoe Park"

A Fall Homecoming at Horseshoe Park ©

Elk promenade streets of Estes Park,
They nibble quivering aspen’s tenderness.
On runway’s modeling racks to behold,
Blind to danger this wilderness dweller.

Though leery of man, in family tradition,
Fall’s decent from where trees greet tundra.
The magnificent graze in meadows of silk,
Swaying to their own reunion at Horseshoe Park.

Pure and sturdy, keeping a skeptical eye,
Dusk’s misty dew hazes as harems gather.
Buck’s circling females, bugling their mates,
And gold aspens give backdrop, scene one.

The novice youth lingers, as a matter of course,
But the senior, the voyeur, waits to pull rank.
The dance of defense won’t calm either stud,
But the sagest male’s patience claims victory.

The mating rehearsal, giving way to the play,
Strumming meadows provide a Broadway stage.
We lurk, crowded roadways, binoculars in hand,
How long, we ask, will the third act last?

Elks homecoming here at Horseshoe Park,
Applause in silence broken only by calls,
The bugling males harmonizing in the dark.
The curious watch, and the curtain falls.

The wonders of ritual at Horseshoe Park.

Written by Celeste Cooper, author