CSI Owyhee

Unlike the rest
Of these predator and
Scavenger ravaged carcasses
Scattered across this slot canyon
Your body was left
To decompose in peace
Skeleton still connected
Dignity intact

Between the two rocks
Where I first thought you laid
Your wounded or weary head
For the last time
I find the horns
And bottom jaw
Wedged so tight
That even in death
Your skull cannot be freed

There would have been
No escape
From this improbable and
Unexpected trap

Did you snap your neck
In a blind panic
Or without complaint
Resign yourself
To slow starvation

How did you keep
The lions and coyotes
From sniffing out a meal
How did the eagles
And turkey vultures
Not notice
Your corpse below
Bloating in the desert

Or does an unwritten law
Of the wild
Demand a sense of respect
Amongst natural enemies
When a luckless sister
With no hope
Can be spared
Some final insult
In the face of such an
Unusual demise