Richard Manly Poet Lyric

A Deer Hunter's Prayer

I am at once pleased and saddened that I have taken your life,oh great creature 
of the forest.

I am pleased because I have invested many years honing my woods lore and 
shooting skills for this final result.

I am saddened because I have killed one of God's most beautiful creatures for 
uncertain reasons.

I don't need your flesh to sustain my family nor your hide to clothe them.  

I question myself constantly because I seem to focus an inordinate amount of 
time day-dreaming about forthcoming hunts and re-enacting old hunts in my 
head.

I question why I am obsessed with checking and re-checking my hunting 
equipment as the fall days shorten.

I question why I expose myself to the abuse of the natural elements--drenching 
rain, freezing snow and biting winds, waiting for you to materialize.

I especially question this hidden force of ancient origins that drives me to take 
your life.

I am satisfied that I have not killed just for the sake of killing--that there is 
something deeper, more spiritural at stake.  Perhaps I'm attempting to capture a 
modicum of your nobility, your sheer beauty and ability to live free, for myself.

Regardless of the answers to these probing questions and as I kneel next to 
your lifeless body, I do ask for your forgiveness and promise that your mortal 
remains will not be wasted and that the cherished memories of this hunt will 
remain with me for the balance of my life.

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