I dropped my pants
in plain view of everyone watching.
There was no one watching.
I was in the wilderness.
I stood adjacent to the tree
that stopped my downward tumbling.
My tumbling started
when I forgot to pay attention.
The wisp of ice on the trail
gave me no warning.
Warning people is not part of ice’s
job description.
I dropped my pants
to be sure no leg bones were broken.
That proves my head hit the tree too
because when a femur breaks
it breaks out of its fleshy container
in a very messy no-standing-up manner.
The sun hurt my brain behind my eyes.
It was on its descent.
I began limping past the nausea.
The trail was mostly downhill
to the trailhead and the car
two point four miles away.
There was enough fresh blood
in the scrapes and cuts
to draw any animal with a good nose.
All predators have good noses.
copyright © 2021 Kenneth P. Gurney
Umflop 