In Plain Sight
Not for the Poetry of the Hunt Challenge (I missed the deadline.)
In my mind,
you're mine
for the taking
Your mind
Is mine for breaking
Perfect trophy
Mothering hips
Wanton lips
I see past
The polite
The refusals
Pert delight
In my crosshairs
I ready my snare
Sweet and honeyed
Words of sincerity
Glimmer of truth
Exuding confidence
In a one-two punch
With patented fragility
Modest to a fault
No warning given
Insidious but slick
Mentally arresting
But charming
In my lair
You give up
So much of you
For so little of me
My grip tightens
Around your throat
Legalities and morals
Forgotten, ignored
Daylight robbery
Becomes
Statutory rape
Where coercion
Replaces care
A thorn
By any other name
Would be
Just as deceptive
The drop in façade
Then it happens
A debonair shagger
Abuser in plain sight
Revered as the man
Applauded for
His hunter's skills
With no feeling given
To the deer
In his sights
Unaware at first
Twitching
In fear
Once caught
Trapped
Bound
Punished for her trust
The poor victim
Of his devices
Devious and sadistic
The deer, his prey
Still twitching
Beneath his grin
The game is done
The game is won
And the woods
Fell silent
Again.
*
Thanks for reading!
Author's Notes: I fell asleep and missed the deadline for the Poetry of the Hunt challenge. Oh well. Here it is, what would have been my third entry.
Goes without saying, I hope, but I don't share the views in the first half of the poem. I was obviously taking on the role of a different type of predator. A more terrifying type.
About the Creator
Paul Stewart
Award-Winning Writer, Poet, Scottish-Italian, Subversive.
The Accidental Poet - Poetry Collection out now!
Streams and Scratches in My Mind coming soon!
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Comments (8)
I agree with Matthew on this one. I'm afraid of you now. Good work.
Remind me never to piss you off hahahaha
Grahhhh this was so good. Even if you missed the deadline thanks for letting us get to enjoy this. though. I'll be honest. it shook me a little. I was once the deer in the most metaphorical way. But I like that you dug in and wrote such a visceral piece. Not a lot of people understand that kind of hunter. Not a ENOUGH people are aware of this kind of hunter. And people need to understand. This poem, it hits like a morning star, because that's exactly what they are like.
Feels familiar, like you were in the shoes of someone I knew. Well done with this one, fully embraced predator
"A thorn / By any other name/ Would be / Just as deceptive" was clever. Damn clever. Also appreciated the snipped lines. Creates a sense of urgency and tension. Perfectly paired with the subject matter. I also know the pain of passing out and missing a deadline. I wrote "The Last Acrostic" with the intention of submitting at 11:59 p.m. ET so that it would show as the last entry for the last acrostic challenge we've had (remember those?). And naturally, it mocked the nature of these challenges in that we'll see the form--especially taxing forms like acrostics--virtually disappear from the platform now that the challenge is over.
Nicely done, Paul. Those deadlines sneak up on you!
This was honestly a very scary piece, well done. Bummer about the missed deadline, I've done that too many times lol. Still a wonderful poem!
Definitely more terrifying than any true animal.