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.