Disproportionate response
To the boulderer I met in the wood,
I said I’m sorry my dog startled you, and I know some people find animals scary.
What more could I say?
I wasn’t ignoring you when I walked away – the opposite –
I’d heard every word and when you got to the bit
where you said you’d hit my dog with a stick,
I was frightened – though the sight of your raised fist had set that feeling loose.
You said you feared what my off-lead dog would do to you:
I feared what you and your violent promise would do to me.
