They arrive
quietly in
the midst
of dawn
with an early
breakfast
in mind,
large lumbering
horns and
more dainty
does, prancing
in damp grass,
unaware of
the resilient
eyes of their
many admirers
in a quest for
the greenest
shoots, the
early vestiges
of a Summer
feast appears
above the ground
while things
begin as usual…
Until the sight
of tiny wobbly
legs and skinny
rumps betray
the secrets of
early Spring:
the babies
have formed
and been born
by motherly
ritual, and
now they are
ready to run,
to play and find
their place
in the sun,
so wild and
free are they
today, nipping
at the old deer
who must be
grandpa and
tripping up
a couple of
dainty ladies
unaccustomed
to frivolity,
(who have
forgotten the
days when
they tortured
their tribe)
but now is
the day for
the new
to arrive,
bringing a
sense of joy
in their play,
the innocent
way they chase
bounding across
the meadows
before the
golfers race,
it’s Disneyland
for deer
around here!

 

©J.W.WINSLOW 5/1/09