Manic Barbarian Lament

It was five years ago, this Spring.
He went feral, turned back to nature,
regressed to an easier way of being.
Never stays in one place long,
he’s like a fox in that sense,
uses ‘Lays’ and ‘Stop-Overs’
instead of a single base camp.
Besides, there are hundreds of caves
everywhere up in those hills.
The only time he’s consistent
is upon the first night of the full moon…
you can hear him howling,
guttural groaning and whimpering
from different areas of the forest,
all down this wide Valley.
It was the night he lost poor Cariad
and their baby in childbirth.
The Foot Constables from the Lower Hamlet
try to flush him out from time to time…
over the odd missing livestock and the like…
but, he’s wiser and faster than their wiles.
I’ve never heard of him hurting a single soul…
except, when cornered and escaping.
‘Leave the poor bugger be’ is what I say,
let him grieve and mourn how he must
and live out his days in his own wild way.

Paul Tristram is a widely published Welsh writer who deals in the Lowlife, Outsider, and Outlaw genres.  He wrote his first poem as a teenager following his release from the (Infamous) Borstal ‘HMP Portland’, and he has been creating Literary Terrorism ever since.  His novel ‘Crazy Like Emotion’ is available to purchase right here . Also his collection of shorter fiction Kicking Back Drunk ‘Round The Candletree Graves' is available to purchase at https://bookgoodies.com/a/B0DFMTSR4F Both books are published by Close To The Bone Publishing. Read other articles by Paul, or visit Paul's website.