Should Have Could Have Did Not
A rattle snake sunning itself
on a well walked hiking path.
I should have killed it
I had a 410 shot pistol
carried just for that purpose.
I just edged around it and walked on.
I mean it really was a beautiful creature.
Later that day
talking to a fellow walker
he mentioned a lady had got bit by a rattler
on that same path just an hour after
my meeting with it.
Sometimes you have to select
between two likely evils or two
predictably bad choices
and let Intention and outcomes
fall as they may,
especially if you are too nervy or cautious
to prod a snake away with a stick.
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