Refers to the hunters' pleasure,
their season in fresh air
wearing red caps and warm clothes.
The sport takes skill
and the animals that grace it die
a useful death. Along sight lines
the hunters aim clean shots
at pheasant, quail, geese. At home
the birds are plucked and singed,
roasted with juniper,
served with something sour, something sweet:
cranberries or apricots, perhaps,
for the meat is highly flavored
and distinct.
When you eat it
you must chew gently
for the shot can never be removed;
it becomes part of the bird, like bones,
to be gnawed around, and respected.

Natasha Sajé