Another mountain river for him to ford
Too fast flowing, wide, muddy and cold
Two days of wet weather, the heavy rained poured
Much more water than it’s banks could hold
Many crows cawing on the other side
While he waits for the waters to subside
Trying to convince himself it is all good
Although he could find no dry firewood
The chill of this spring evening swiftly coming on
A heavy mist fell all through the night
Fast flowing river water was all he could hear
Until the dimness of dawn’s first light
Tramping hooves, a small herd of soaking wet deer
The mere sight of them made him shiver
As they had just swam that swollen river
In their difficult crossing, only several had survived
Then he saw the huge spotted cat on the other side
The river had cheated it out of a meal
Through the clouds shot a dazzling sunbeam
Then the ghost cat quit the opposite bank
Troubled, the hiker continued upstream
As this valley had become much too dank
The ghost cat would be ascending as well
How far up, the lone hiker could not tell
The river would be narrower and shallower uphill
Pondering upon that gave the hiker a fearful chill
The river could be crossed in a single savage bound
The ghost cat, a beast of nearly forgotten tales
He had seen this legendary creature at dawn
Little known predator of these ridges and vales
Having no preference between hiker or fawn
Thick fog obscuring all, his ascent proved hard
Thoughts of the ghost cat put him on guard
The river had narrowed, fast flowing sound
Narrow enough to be crossed in a savage bound
His slow careful ascent was almost silent as death
Hear pumping, fearful that he was breathing too loud
The winding path was washed out here and there
Finding the upper slopes blanketed by a low cloud
Thick fog hanging in the still mountain air
Surely not the easy ascent he had planned
Unpredictable weather in this mountainous land
One misstep and hard fall, a fatal mistake
A dangerous risk, the hiker decided to take
Hoping to reach North River campground by nightfall
He reached the campground by late afternoon
Thankful to see several other campers were already there
Hopefully more of them would be arriving soon
Safety in numbers, having less of a care
A gathering of revelers, waiting for the fog to clear
After a friendly greeting they offered him a beer
Near their encampment, he pitched his small tent
Enjoying their company and fine entertainment
Then they asked about his recent travels
The hiker gazed out at dark fog shrouded boles
Then into the blazing campfire he stared
As a shapely young lass stoked the hot coals
Food, drink and dry firewood, they came well prepared
He spoke of his difficult ascent and left it at that
Who would believe his story about the ghost cat ?
Speaking instead of raccoons, skunks and the occasional bear
While wondering how close they were to the ghost cat’s lair
Ancient predator of these dark wooded hills
He passed his pipe and they shared their beer
Bothered not by each other company in the least
Troubled thoughts of the ghost cat being so near
The hiker felt a need to tell them of this beast
In a manner that would not make him seem insane
For in their company tonight, he wished to remain
Then he recalled an incident in a distant wooded vale
Within the fire’s glow, he began his frightening tale
About a young woman’s disappearance years ago
"When her companions returned, she was not there
The proper authorities, they searched high and low
They suggested she became lost, or taken by a rogue bear
Stating sometimes that is how visits into the wild go
Mentioning nothing about trailing drops of blood
And huge paw prints, they found in the mud
Later they would kill a bear and hold it at blame
A suspected rogue man eater all the same
Expected, and not to turn away tourist bucks"
Finishing his tale, they gulped down their beers
He watched them as they looked nervously around
Instilling awareness while he stoked their fears
His young hosts now questioned every forest sound
One tipsy young woman, somewhat taken with fright
Asked if she could bed down with the hiker tonight
Smiling he gave her shoulder a reassuring pat
All the while hoping for no visit from the ghost cat
He had been alone in the woods for much too long
Most of the campers had fallen into a sodden sleep
The hiker stayed awake with a few others
A long night watch they volunteered to keep
The hiker, a Staunton woman and her two younger brothers
Was it an interest in the camper, or fear of the ghost cat ?
Around their blazing fire, they quietly sat
Not far off from dawn, quite a scary surprise
They saw the ghost cat’s balefully glowing yellow eyes
The beast would not come near their campfire
Fri Sep 28, 2012 5:07 pm
