Die Like An Elk

In February of 2009 “Mighty Bull Elk No. 9”
tried to jump a fence,
somersaulted onto his back
and was pinned between large rocks
with his trophy-sized antlers beneath him.
He suffocated to death.
In elk years he was in his seventies.
He had no complaints about cervical spondylosis,
epididymitis,
arthritic pain from a lifetime of rutting injuries,
the impermanence of his existence
or his contingency.
He just tried to jump
as he had during all his wild years
and died an ironic death
with no sense of humor.
It is reason
that does us in.