Best Antlered Poems
The gun seems gun-shy in this space;
where deer hides hang on rustic walls
and granddad-tick-tocks beat, instead
of hearts in hollowed skins. The gun
a “trophy-bagger” in its rack,
a loud-mouth predator at rest,
this motherless, brother-less thug
perceives no pity-pangs... the gun
now quiet, buckshot empty, cold.
Above the stove’s phoenix soul hangs
an antlered head with prideful tines
the man, with bear-paw hands, had won.
A fox in freeze-frame-trot, a stiff
with cat glass eyes, attests his prize.
Indeed, like litterfall they fell,
unseen his haunt in hunter gear, his gun
a junkyard dog of steel. I say
they're beautiful in life. He says
they’re beautiful in death. Between
our words — a stand of pine — the shot!
that brought the shock of ammo air
that rib-cage-ripped and broke the breath,
that hurled the crows against the sky —
the blast that felled the 10-point buck that failed to sense your goddamn gun!
Yeah... blame the buck his reckless pose
and buckled throes. You felt the king!
Behind tight trees you sat with dawn
in sniper-silhouette. The gun
felt nothing; no remorse, no joy
—it, too, hangs upon the wall.
Categories:
antlered, animal, conflict, death, life,
Form:
Quatrain
Petals are withering on late blooming roses
My Summer garden is beginning to fade
Maples are shedding their last clinging leaves
Amber fields are ready for Fall's gathering
There's a faint chill wafting in the air.
I call it the crisping days of Autumn
and the first hint of a seasonal change
My pastoral view is worthy of a painting
Tomorrow, I'll sketch the visions before me
layers of bold colors as I walk down the lane.
I hear the wind traveling through bare limbs
It seems to be whistling a lively gypsy tune
A song that brings out the wanderer in me
making me quite envious of geese on wing,
honking as they quickly travel south bound.
A stag proudly stands atop the hill
reigning like a king in antlered crown
His warm breath exhaled in a clouded mist
Happy he's caught the attention of a doe.
Autumn has always awakened the artist in me
with its bold palette of crimson, umber and gold
Ruffled russet gowns, once adorning tree limbs
lay wrinkled and scattered across the forest floor
Brushes and canvas await my hand.
It's decor is a kaleidoscope of colors
From sketches I'll paint Autumnal scenes
It's a gift Nature generously offers to me.
Categories:
antlered, autumn,
Form:
Free verse
A snow white deer was downed by a hunter.
A once in a lifetime trophy, he boasted.
Some folks were crimson pissed
because a snow-white deer is very rare,
a sign of good things to come.
The purist of beings to reappear....
an antlered angel... wearing a message
a reminder that God is still present,
still looking after- picking up
after
us.
From the edge of our acid cloud, sludge streams
burning forest of Dali dreams.
Waiting for the perfect time.
The perfect time
to float above the clearing.
To cleanse
to whisper "there's still miracles-miracles abound
there's still time to turn negativities into lacy dreams.
Knead bullets into butterflies and mustard seeds.
Spin the planet back from black to aquamarine".
To the hunter it was just a leaping piece of meat
to be silenced-d- skinned- devoured displayed...
owned.
Now some people want to bow the hunter down
you know, nail his polyester neck to the forest wall
for stuffing his miracle.
Perhaps the white deer was a test.
God's barometer, to see where our souls are really at...
Categories:
antlered, death, miracle, planet,
Form:
Narrative
The light is fading, evening breaks
Between the oaken woods and lake,
It's time to finish with the row
And homeward bound, the trail to take.
With rake in hand I turn to go
To find my pick axe and the hoe,
When from the trail there ran a buck
And right behind him came two doe.
At first I thought, what rotten luck!
I left my rifle in the truck,
Then, as he stopped to look my way
He gave his tail a flip and tuck.
And then he spun and bounced away
The doe behind him sleek and grey,
Crashing through the brush and vine
Into the woods and welcomed shade.
He must have sported twenty tine
I thought as Shadow starts to whine,
Asking, should he give him chase?
I pat his head in soft decline.
The sun is gone upon my face
To lose the buck is no disgrace,
Although today I've been undone
There'll be another time and place.
Today the buck has rightly won
The hunters gone, the season done,
Perhaps we'll meet again next year
Before the season's had it's run.
The buck was ancient, and I fear
He may not see another year,
But then, another year is seldom clear
For man, or dog, or antlered deer.
Timothy I. Brumley
Categories:
antlered, introspection, life, nature, pets,
Form:
Narrative
To create a picture two or three faint lines are drawn
To establish the perspective of what's yet unseen
To let eyes to travel easily and harmoniously over it.
Like smoke rising over a newborn mist of valley
A wisp of curving cloud catches at wing tip of a circling hawk
A bubbling stream racing down to awake a sleeping village
On the edge of water and golden gorse a tall full antlered buck
Watching his mate of the moment steal a last bite
Before they both flee the coming bright of day
The wind rises to erase the picture even as it forms
Whipping the smoke to haze
Taking the wisp of cloud and blowing dust
into the eyes of the prey the hawk is watching
driving his breakfast back into the ground.
Carrying unpleasant scents to the spring toed deer
As white tails bounce into secret woods
A picture in time presented by a blinded artist with a lute
Or an all seeing explosive man
Who cannot tell you how his mind can rhyme
Or reason from one moment to the next
Another sketch in text
Categories:
antlered, art
Form:
Free verse
YEAR ONE
suddenly alert
this splendidly antlered stag
looked star-skyward
and the many beasts
all watching the sky-bright night
were warmed and at peace
Categories:
antlered, animal,
Form:
Haiku
I don’t remember
much about the day the deer jumped
the fence and broke its neck.
Late summer and I inhaled
the plump morning air—red
apples, brown
sugar and grass, my
pudgy feet padding the damp
linoleum squares
where sunlit streams flooded gol-
den through the yawning kitchen window.
And out that window, just beyond
the five-foot chain link line,
an antlered buck
lay, his great head twisted
toward an ‘appled’ sky.
Then my mother
a steam kettle whist-
ling “look away! look away!” “look away!”
and my father’s whispers
thick curtains closing
on the jagged red light rising.
Categories:
antlered, death, life,
Form:
Narrative
Dry leaves rustle with each step
Noisy autumn here beneath my feet
My golden wood a wondrous place
Woodpecker's song repeat, repeat...
The stag his antlered crown parades
While gleaning in the harvest fields
The pheasant cock calls his mate
Such small wonders this autumn yields...
The fire draws me to sit awhile
And ponder the passing of the year
How quickly it is autumn's time again
Time to remember and hold it dear
Categories:
antlered, autumn,
Form:
Quatrain
If you were at the zoo today,
Perhaps you also viewed
Some bison and a tiger
With a regal attitude.
Some antlered deer and tortoises,
Some lemurs, fish and snakes
And every creature making sounds
That Old MacDonald makes.
But if you were observant
Then you might have seen as well
A tired foursome riding
On the insect carousel.
The 3 year old delighted
In his up and down-type bug
With his nana standing shotgun,
Arms protecting with a hug.
While the 1 year old and grandpa
Sat behind and took it in,
Both enjoying as they circled,
Each displaying quite a grin.
Yet upon a close inspection
You would say, and you'd be right,
That the 4 of them will very likely
Sleep real well tonight!
Categories:
antlered, animal, grandparents,
Form:
Rhyme
In ancient looms of my homeland,
Fairies once shuttled across threads of rainbows
Weaving folklores of gods and goddesses.
Our tapestry needed no haberdashery of
Brabubahanas and Chitrngadas or a vijay panchali,
For no tantric-needle knitted our folktales.
I want to go back and melt in folk songs
Of shamans, who rejoiced in carnival of ripening rice,
Possessed by jingling moans of a pena.
I want to orchestrate, one more time, the ballad
Of Luwaopa and Koubru Namoinee, and
Feel the heartbeats of Henjunaha and Lairuklembi.
I want to burn my poetry in immortal angst
Of Khamba-Thoibi, and blow the ashes
On winds above Loktak's gentle ripples.
I want to defy traditions, once again,
By falling in love like Chingsompa and Panthoibi, and
Tell the world I inherited their sweet arrogance.
I want to retrace petals of
Thainagi Leirang, leaving no stones unturned,
Until I find the lost quill in ruins of alphabets.
I want to ask children of my land
To perform Eemagi Pujah by planting a Madhabi
On the stage of another Shingel Indu.
I want to revisit a forbidden village in my past, and
Reopen the second chapter of Jahera
Sitting by the old mosque with a green door.
I want to hear young Khongjomba sing
Lamphel Patki Kombirei, while I sip chilled Atingba
From a bamboo mug, in a karaoke bar.
I want to see Pidoinu dance in a discotheque
To the exotic tunes of Khulang Eshei, while
Her Moirangphi floats with iridescent embroidery.
I wish to put my ears on grandpa's clay courtyard, and
Listen to Leipaklei's sprouting sighs in a crack,
For the last time in this lifetime.
Finally, I like to be frightened again by Tapta, and
Wake up in a faraway dream where
My homeland shines as silvery as the milky way.
Note -
Names of mythical characters and entities from our folktales, history and books are used in the poem.
Pena is a stringed traditional musical instrument, played with a bow with tiny bells, of my homeland.
Loktak is a lake in my native state, which is the largest fresh water lake in eastern India, where the world's only floating wild life sanctuary lies, on which the almost extinct brow antlered deers known as Sangai, in native dialect, are preserved.
Atingba is a locally brewed rice beer.
Leipaklei is a rare orchid which sprouts out of cracks in dry soil/grounds.
Categories:
antlered, 6th grade, abortion, absence,
Form:
ABC
There’s an old village green where a marquee was seen
I don’t do ‘Bah humbug’, don’t want to be mean
A little fake snow ain’t a Christmassy scene
But the reindeer and Santa Claus might well have been
But two little kittens and one manic pup
Made those arrangements all go belly up
Nothing was planned, you should understand
It’s simply that sometimes things get out of hand
You see, Rum n Raisin snuck out through their flap
They ran to the green to give Santa a clap
Walnut, their young canine friend gave a yelp
Nipped out through the back door and followed to help
He got to the Green where a red nosed reindeer
Had cornered his friends and they cowered in fear
Walnut snuck up and said, “Get out of here,
Or maybe I’ll show you the meaning of fear.”
Raisin said, “Walnut, just look at his nose
It’s big and it’s red and just see how it glows
I’ve seen a reindeer with a nose just the same
He’s on Christmas cards… and Rudolph’s his name.”
The reindeer said, “Don’t come here giving me grief.”
But when Walnut grinned he clapped eyes on his teeth
Rudolph said, “I cannot handle much pain.”
Then flew to the skies and was not seen again
So when Santa came he was totally mad
“One of you did something totally bad.
I need a new reindeer this minute,” he said.
And then stuck two reindeer horns on Walnut’s head
Raisin cried, “He’s just a pooch, can’t you see?
He won’t bring your presents to John Doe or me
Not to the next town nor over the sea.”
And Santa said, “Tough, cos he made Rudolph flee.”
Rum advised Santa, “Today’s Christmas Eve,
And for all I know, your real name is Steve
Your Santa Claus suit is a little white lie
But I’d like to know how that reindeer could fly.”
Santa said, “This Christmas grotto is fake
But I am quite real, so please give me a break
Your Walnut must stand in to help pull my sleigh
But you have a choice: Do you come - do you stay?”
Walnut stood there in his new antlered head
He looked rather silly but, even so, said,
“You’ve got lots of reindeer and all of them fly
I can’t comprehend what you might want with I.”
Santa said, “Reindeer teams don’t fly by day
Rudolph’s bright, shiny nose would light the way
Walnut said, “You know no dog’s hooter glows?”
So Santa supplied him an L.E.D. nose.
Categories:
antlered, cat, christmas, dog,
Form:
Narrative
Majestic and tall,
This velvet antlered stag king
Patrols his realm so
With herd so mighty
Hinds bow heads as he passes;
Newborn calves frolic
Highland heather blooms
Snow capped mountains, horizon view
Kingdom of the glens.
http://www.thehighlanderspoems.com/scotland.php
Categories:
antlered, animals, inspirational, nature, places
Form:
Haiku
Looking to God’s glorious sky reigning over His creation
As all of His birds fly above each and every single nation
From the tiniest of insects to the very large Great Whale
In all of it His Glory reflects so to see it you can not fail
Just listen to all the sound His Hand holding everything in place
Such a joy I have found just looking into God’s Face
Looking out on the horizon touching the vast sea so blue
A small child just having fun for everyday I learn something new
Just the variety never mind the amount as Darwin scratches his head
Too many for him to count so he just flubbed it instead
And with all our Creator’s humor like the parrot, the talking breed
Now Darwin knows what’s in store as stated in the Apostles Creed
The sheep the goat and the antlered antelope
Every word Scripture ever wrote though you can’t imagine the scope
The grass is green as the lilies bloom a man walking his best friend
Not to shed gloom but the Lord told you it will all come to an end
Categories:
antlered, god, nature,
Form:
Rhyme
Stars are in wide sky all over adorning;
Left when they saw start of next warning;
Flowers flourished and are fully bloomed;
Here, there and everywhere as I assumed.
Nature near and far would normally appear
Just like she had before year after year
Here along the entire Carolina coast
Who my mind in became deeply engrossed.
Will write this poem which I shall share
About my Carolina and every where
That has become extraordinary to me;
God never charges and is for free.
In field, found deer with fawn and doe
And big, antlered stag going to and fro;
Then heard a horse who started panting
While people were carefully planting.
Cars went whizzing up and down road
And at night all of their headlights glowed
After finishing work for one more day
Or pick up child who always likes to play.
Saw feathered hawk fly high overhead
Then said prayers before going to bed;
God made Carolina such a glorious scene;
Conifer trees with cones and grass so green.
Tall trees still sway with a warm breeze
And before God, I fall on my knees
Truly thanking Him for what was here
And my lovely wife who is close and near.
Categories:
antlered, religious,
Form:
Couplet
They say you don’t need one for self-defense,
that this no longer is the ‘Wild West,’
and we should leave such things to the police,
just sit and wait for them, that would be best.
But when seconds count, sitting and waiting
will leave a person well and truly screwed,
and oh, by the way, the courts say that they
have no obligation to protect you.
Some would rather you die then fire back,
they had so little respect for the one
you’ve a natural right to defend your life,
so don’t you ever give up your guns.
They say don’t worry about your family,
it is no longer your job to protect them,
delegate that duty off to the state,
which you should know is your greatest of friends.
And though that friend might not be there the night
you have to watch your own daughter be raped,
it’s better you don’t kill that ‘troubled soul,’
it’s much more ‘moral’ to let him escape.
They would explain away his felony,
use his sad upbringing as a bludgeon,
only you can defend those close to you,
so for God’s sake, don’t give up your guns.
They say you will never need such weapons
just to go out into the woods for deer,
as if the threat of antlered cervids is
the type of threat that free people should fear.
They expect us to forget the lessons
learned back in seventeen seventy-six;
that the state is necessary evil,
and can become too corrupt to be fixed.
Though the mere thought of such a circumstance
does not strike any sane person as fun,
the option must always be in our hands,
so we can’t ever give up our guns.
They will laugh and say in the modern day
that such notions no longer will work,
militaries have become too advanced,
it’s big machines that will cause all the hurt.
But I think of Vietnam and Iraq,
the great trouble that 'mere' guns did cause,
and those were people united for evil,
not for liberty and the rule of law.
Imagine what true patriots can do,
and the British, they have seen it done,
we must always be armed and ready,
so you can never give up your guns...
CONCLUDES IN PART II.
Categories:
antlered, america, freedom, how i
Form:
Rhyme