--- B A R B A R A   T R A N

It's 1975. I'm nine. Mesmerized
by nature films. Big cats
	bringing down 
		helpless deer.

First, the zigzagging,
the eternal
	pauses: nervous legs
		twitching, wide

eyes blinking. Then the narrowing 
down, the separation 
	of the weakest
		from the pack.

The relieved 
flight of the others
          --white tails
            disappearing

into woods.
The lone one, heart
	beating fast, tired
		of this struggle that ends

the same way
every time. Still, it runs.
	It has to. These are the rules
		of the game.