Words from Pep That Day by James Washburn

Words from Pep

That Day by James Washburn

The smell of damp humus hung in the air between towering aspen crowding a single-track dirt lane. Stepping without sound into this narrow opening, eyes scanning both directions, I was Azrael, angel of death, here to kill. A muted click told me the safety was off as my finger slid behind the trigger guard. From eighty yards, slightly downhill, a black image ambled onto the road, lifting nose toward the sky, taking in the coolness and sensing the good life of the day. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, my sweating hands raised the rifle. My cheek lay pulsing behind the sight… The blast drove wood and steel into my shoulder, shuttered nearby branches, left the sound of death echoing between the hills. Three thousand foot-pounds of energy instantaneously released upon this peaceful, glorious being. He struggled for cover, collapsing against a limbless dead fall. Raising his golden muzzle in my direction his eyes met mine asking “Why?” I could not answer and time stood still. Then with a song I will never forget he turned his face heavenward looking to our Creator and sang out his release from life. I sat the rifle on dried leaves, leaned forward, palms on my knees, face to the earth, as shame swept over my heart.

It has been over forty years since his story ended. Forty years I have revisited that day. His pelt has been given respect among my sacred things. I have never willfully killed again. The incomprehensible value, wonder and reverence that I see in all our relations became his gift initiated by his death song that day. From that day the magnificent nobility of all beings grows in my consciousness. From that day our spirits were inseparably joined and my life changed forever. He whispers to me over the decades, lifting my understanding in kindness and empathy toward all life. This may seem odd to those who see sport in taking life, but until we meet again, the remorse that gave birth to a higher revelation will forever be my companion. 

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ONE WORLD -  ONE FAMILY OF MAN  -  ONE CREATOR OF ALL