Sex Education Poem by Donna Pelan

About a half a century ago
When I was around 15 years old
I'd lived a rather sheltered life
Or this is what I've been told

There was no talk of sex in our house
Nor of self-confidence, or self worth
I was pretty sure that I was born
The result of a virgin birth

My dad became a forest warden
And held that job with great pride
Sometimes he'd ask me to come along with him
And I'd go just for the ride

He had a ply wood cut-out of a deer
The eyes would shine when hit by light
He'd place it in the field somewhere
Then wait in the car quite late at night

When the hunters came to shoot the deer
Or - I'm told that was the reason
He was supposed to ticket them
As it wasn't hunting season

Each year my dad bought a hunting licence
It's a bonding thing I hear
His friends would ask 'Did you bag one yet? '
And each year we never got that deer

I'm told that one year he aimed the gun
And looked at the deer, and her gentle eyes
Lowered the gun down to the ground
And forfeited his prize

I guess back then it wasn't macho
To see a man who cries
Wish he would come back, so I could tell him that
He was a 'hero' in my eyes

One night I watched as he readied to go
I didn; t feel like going along
But he seemed to want my company
Not to go - just seemed so wrong

We were only gone about 15 minutes
A mile or two out of town
I lifted my eyes up off my book
To see why we were slowing down

There were two moose on the road
As we watched they moved to the side
He circled her a number of times
Calculating how to mount this hide

And as we watched, he dug a hole
And she put her back feet in it
She seemed not to be distraught
But loved it every minute

When the love making was over
The moved off into the wood
I hope he cuddled her a bit
And told her it was really good

My dad never said much through all of this
And I was too shy to make a sound
But I found a closeness to him that night
That was utterly profound

For what we watched on that country road
I feel it was his endeavor
To cram all my sex education in at one time
I think was pretty clever

I've tried to apply this lesson wisely
Perfect love making became my goal
But its been hard to find an understanding man
Who's willing to dig the hole.