Life Upon Death

In the humid heat of the summer in the middle of the night She was searching for her lover for they had had a fight She was frightened she was angry and her bearings were long lost But she knew that she must find him no matter what the cost She walked deeper into the forest and the soft breeze cooled her arms But the darkness seemed a menace wanting to cause her harm Onwards she kept searching, calling out his name But the only return to her calls was her mind admitting blame She was drawn to a sound in the distance, like a begging pleading cry A mournful distress call drew her and she knew she must reply She got nearer to the crying, heard the sound of a river flow She reached the edge of a steep bank and saw the fawn below It was wedged upon a boulder, no way up or no way down She hesitated a moment then tore apart her gown She ripped it into pieces and tied it into a rope Then firmly knotted it round a tree and scrambled down the slope She reached the ledge below her and gathered up the fawn She tied it loosely to her front and prayed for the light of dawn She began to climb up the slope but the fawn was filled with fear It struggled as she wrestled to reach the top so near When the top was within reach she lifted out the fawn And placed him on the safe ground just at the crack of dawn But the rope was very strained now, she was tired and weak And the threads gave up their hold just as she reached the peak She tumbled blindly backwards her fall broken by the ledge Alas her life was ended as her head hit on the edge Above her in the growing light the fawn was running free And the remnants of the torn up gown blew gently in the breeze Jane Shields 10th August 2016