Best Antlers Poems
Steep-roofed great oak doors sheen of sheilds
Deep tombs stones shrines honoured dead
distant past creaking of rafters carved red oak
Stones in a mysterious rivers course.............
the rush of life whirl past ancient ships
Rams skull masks crescent moons..........
deep three beat rythum of skin drums..........
The raging seas hurled him high a wave
crashed over him as he clung on to a piece
of driftwood almost tearing him clean.
Majestic mountains on the horizon ...........
shimmering in a haze of heat ...................
An abundance of rain and rich fertile soil
The peeling of the bells swelled heavily
The women's crowns , veils and pointed
headdresses trailing fur trimmed mantles
A young knight on a white horse the squire
dropped from his perch on the ramparts.
The steward came in with a covered platter
then used a knife to shave thin slices of lime
arduous ascent
incandescent massive orb –
buck tosses his head
I stole an hour from work
Drove a few blocks from our downtown office
To a cemetery
And there
In my preferred shady spot to park
Where I typically meditate
With all four windows wide open
Gulping the afternoon autumn wind
Shaving my face to young again
In the rearview mirror
Brian Doyle’s last book opened
But today? No
Another soul
A fellow survivor in their coffin car
I found praying there first
So I give her the space
Crawl on
Find another blotted out lace of umbra
Just as good
On a little inclined peppermint hill
The road so narrow
I wonder whether I’ve made a mistake
Accidentally driving up more of a walking path
Eye of the needle
I try to let it go
Unfold
My bible
Next to me
Little pale graves nub in the grass
Like breadcrumbs
Celtic dates from the mid-1800s
And beyond
Not just a deer
But a buck with a large antler rack
Looks back
To me
Undisturbed from his grazing
How could this be?
To grow so old and grand
Contained forever in this ancient park
Squared by the city?
With nowhere to go
No place to be free?
Or maybe he is very very free
A ghost satisfied with his grateful rest?
He’s had enough
We both are startled
Perhaps with the same thought?
Or was it that red car creaking on its springs
Inching past us
Departing
Young girl looks over
Book in hand
Gives a little wave
Smiles
Either to me or the buck
Who knows?
As if telling us to relax
She won’t tell.
On dogs phony antlers are tied
So unhappy Blossom will hide
When she sees them coming
She’d rather go slumming
At landfills she spends the Yuletide
And she’s not alone in her fear
Surrounded by many a peer
Midst trash each dog cowers
On ice in snow showers
Refusing to dress like reindeer
*Written December 8, 2018
For Tania's "Funny Reindeer" contest
What are reindeer antlers for
Fighting other reindeer causing gore
Really anti-social
Social distancing tonal
Still need to stock their fridges I'm sure
battle between bucks
deadly duel-decided ~
scavengers spectate
(November Full Moon – Dakota and Lakota)
woodland filled with shaded light and antlers.
beauty’s said to be in the eye of the beholder.
autumn leaves, soul of the soil, wildflowers…
buck and doe scintillate in their space.
they prefer to do life alone sans humans -
get rather skittish when two-legged creatures
enter their retreat…their abode…their cover.
a silent hunter, in stand at dawn, cocks
a gun or pulls back a bow, robbing solitude,
causing ruination of perfect contentment.
woodland with bolting light and flaming arrows.
hunter’s salivating for meat and trophies.
11/13/2022
You have the prettiest antlers the Jimbah Bah said.
I’d explain it to you, but it would confuse your head.
I do! Said the buck, all puffed up and incredibly proud!
He was a male who felt good and yelled “I’m great!” right aloud!
I pump my arms, my legs
through chlorinated fluidity,
hopeful of shaping up,
not shipping out.
up and down, side to side.
sinking weights.
still wet, dash off to my car.
vinyl and towels on the seat.
wouldn’t want to be pulled
over, wearing only a coverup,
but I want
for my shower.
to the top of the hill.
Oh! Deer!
spotted. no two. done.
no three. the fourth
has huge antlers. stops.
I’ve opened my window
so we can stare at each other.
we have our moment.
so four. no, five.
the final oh-deer
pulling up the rear,
not as robust as the last. done.
now, for the shower;
and to show hub’ the pics
of trees wagging tails,
antlers in the midst,
and the watered down animal
snapped in my itty bitty forest.
Doris Annie had a dream
It was crisp, and clear to her
Others thought it was way off stream
Plausibility to them did not occur
I am on a quest to find reindeer
with yellow antlers she said to all
they thought this weird, strange and *****
until she brought home two, straight and tall.
where did you find them? I asked so brave.
They were in Montreal, near an elf’s middle cave.
Now the naysayers are quiet, and we all believe.
Because she has them living at her farm in Sheave.
The antlers
Red
And the life
Dead
Can we
Begin
Not give
In