What The Bison Saw
To avoid becoming a statistic, the image was created using a long lens from the safety of a vehicle.
What the Bison saw
was a universe of grass
reckless with abandon
wildly undulating
while capitulating to the fury of the wind
What the Bison saw
was fire in the sky
raking, arachnid-like
arcing bolts that lit the inky night
and set the prairie afire
What the Bison saw
were frozen winter 'scapes
a sea of rimy fur
and vast clouds of cottony breath
What the Bison saw
were packs of Great Plains Wolves
that choreographed strategic onslaughts
on the fold
they took both young and infirm
What the Bison saw
were indigenous people
who drove the panic-stricken herd
to death
over treacherous cliffs
What the Bison saw
were iron trails
stretching far across the prairie's face
avenues for smoke-belching monsters
that spoke of thunder and lead
What the Bison saw
was a landscape of death
tongueless, hideless carcasses
scattered liberally to the horizon
What the Bison saw
was a situation of near extinction
yet, from a small group
their numbers grew
but never like they were ... that is what the Bison sees
~ Poem and Bison capture, What The Bison Saw © Jerry L. Ferrara