Trails

     In Pearsall, Texas a skunk crawled under our house and sprayed his scent.  We held our noses and went about our daily life. Since we had no place to go, we had to stay there and suffer.  After a while, I thought the odor had dissipated. When my two boys and I went to the grocery store, I found out how wrong I was.  After we finished shopping and went to check out, a woman in front of us said, "I smell a skunk."  That's when I realized the odor had not gone away.  From that point on, I always made sure before we went anywhere our clothes were freshly washed and our bodies had been scrubbed until they shined.  Never again did anyone comment about smelling a skunk in our presence.  Perhaps they were just being kind.    

Trails

What are those strange shadows in front of me?

No matter how hard I look I just can't see.

If they're what I smell, they need a bath.

Maybe I just need to walk a different path.

I'm afraid if I don't, I'll begin to smell too.

And we know in today's society that wouldn't do.

I looked much closer just to see what it was.

The very sight made me stop walking and pause.

Then I turned and immediately ran the other way.

What I saw is not forgotten to this very day.

A bear had begun to attack a cute little skunk,

In seconds he was sprayed by a mist that stunk.

The bear ran into the woods rubbing his eyes.

The skunk wasn't hurt which is no surprise.

There really isn't a special moral to this little tale.

Other than it's best to walk down a sweet-smelling trail.

                                     Patricia Westbrook