While I am watching him through
the powerful scope of my light magnum
thinking about whether or not I hate 
him as much as H.D. Thoreau did

And since his only real threat would be
wounding the dog I decided to 
let him live knowing well that 
was probably a mistake 

I would soon enough regret
and not get another shot
It’s always a tough call when
you have a pest in your sights

Or wait until the wrong time
when he is way out of your
sights and has already wounded
the dog who of course thought 

He was invincible more powerful
faster and so forth
but he was wounded badly
and I felt like a fool

For missing my chance 
to end a clear threat to a 
beloved member of our family 
when the chance was clear

When I should have acted
according to self-evident laws
prescribed by nature concerning
who should and who should not

Survive