Poems, Personal Stories, and Observations

Posts tagged ‘deer’

Neighborhood Menagerie

One little squirrel scampered ‘cross the road.
He hurried on to add to his load
Of nuts and things for winter’s sting.

Two wild turkeys crossed the road,
Their necks were long and narrow,
But do their bones have marrow?

Three rabbits sat and munched the grass
The clover was their favorite —
It wasn’t quite Welsh rarebit.

Four deer stood staring by the road,
Until our car did scare them.
A hunter would like to snare them.

Five robins bobbed along the grass.
They find that grubs are great repast —
In winter, berries, if they last.

Until temperatures drop, the wasps are here.
I do not hold them especially dear.
If I leave them alone, I do not fear.

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Magical Doe Eyes

We drive onto a wooded lane.
They look at us with doe eyes,
For that is what they are.
Frozen in silence; they only stare.

Magical moments —
We silently watch each other, unmoving.
Until our car moves on —
Then they startle, leap, turn, and run,
Prancing, as if in a dance.

They say animals are dumb,
But that is only their tongues.
Their eyes bespeak some knowledge there,
Their beauty and grace a gift so rare.

I’ll never forget that stare.

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Winter Creatures

All day long, the snow fell,
Softly, quietly; you couldn’t hear —
When your eyes were closed.

All the next day, we shoveled;
The mail was undelivered.
Could we hope for it the next day?
Or the next?

Yes, after dark the mail truck came,
One day, or two; some hours late,
Bringing news, and things to read;
The carrier freezing in his truck.

(But I’m hoping not –.
Do they wear electric suits,
Like astronomers, watching distant stars?}

I trudged out to get the mail,
And sorting it, found it not all ours.
Four pieces each, for neighbors next –
Should I venture out to deliver the rest?

Perhaps foolishly — yes, I went.
And on the way, looked to my left.
Two deer stood silently, watching me.
In the silence, dark, and cold,
We watched each other, warily.

Some days we see the animal tracks,
And even trails, worn in the snow.
Squirrels, birds, and chipmunks, too —
Deer and rabbits have passed through.

And today, with sun on snow,
A flash of red in bush does show.
A cardinal has come to eat
Some seeds I set out for a treat.

A rabbit came to our porch, too.
He tried some parsley, grass –
But few, the blades that he had picked to chew.

So blessed we are, with all these creatures,
God, through nature, a constant teacher.

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TRINITY

Three boys ride bikes along the road,
Fishing poles bending as they go –
Nearby must be a fishing hole.

Three deer burst through the dense woods deep;
Their hooves ring loud along the street.
I wonder if they’re good to eat?

Three rabbits pranced among the clover,
A baby and two others, older;
And then they run for shelter, cover.

Three stars danced in the sky so bright –
Planets, or just meteorites?
They spread a fantasy of light.

Three Persons in eternity,
One Being in infinity,
One bond in perpetuity.

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January 25, East of Cincinnati

For five days, they say,
Highs will be above freezing.
Snow will melt, then freeze at night,
And in the dark morning, black ice will be teasing.

(Winter’s almost two-thirds gone,
If you’re meteorological,
Or only one-third gone,
If you’re astronomical.
It all depends on your perspective.)

We crossed a bridge over the river.
Partly frozen, layers of ice and snow.
The paralyzed water, waiting for sunlight
To let the torrents flow.

We put our Christmas decorations away.
It’s good to work in the chilly sun.
You come awake — each breath you take
Brings life and health, and a little wheezing.

I fill the bird feeders full of seeds –
The birds have needs.
From bare branches they fly and feed;
Chipmunks and squirrels get the fallen seed.

I go for a walk in the sunny afternoon.
I see a single robin, NOT singing a tune.
For many months I have not seen them,
Waiting for the sun to free them.

Twelve inches of snow from two weeks ago
Have mostly melted, but the wind is cold.
I pull up my hood, and the sun feels good.
It’s actually pleasant, amazingly.

Geese have left their droppings
On sidewalk and street,
And left their footprints in the snow.
Rabbits and deer make their tracks complete.

People are out, walking in the sun,
Or being walked by their dogs.
I come inside, where it’s pleasantly warm,
And sit by the fire of fake logs.

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The Creature Chorus

In dead of night, in silent places,
The deer creep out and take their places
For midnight dancing, their footsteps prancing.

They circle round a leafless tree,
For now it’s winter, though they might be
There other times — in summer, maybe.

Soon rabbits join them, an inner ring,
If you have ears, you hear them sing,
The lilting rabbit Hopping Song.

Next squirrels join in; it’s quite a din
To hear their tch-tch, as they grin
And join the creature chorus.

Don’t leave out mice; you must look twice
To see their little bodies quiver —
A dancing river.

So don’t disturb the animal fiesta —
You thought they would be taking siesta —
But to your wonder, you found their frolic.

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The Stealth of Survival

The deer are seldom seen by day on our street.
They stay in the nearby woods
Until all (or most) neighbors
Are safely in bed.
Dim darkness will be their cloak of safety.

Like ghosts, they silently emerge
From the nearby woods,
Grazing on cold lawns and shrubs
And leaving behind
Only their telltale tracks in the snow
To surprise us in the morning.

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