Poems From Our Youth

THE DEER

The unmistakable ping of As the deer leap for freedom, Big, black spirited eyes glistening like lakes, Their shiny, wet, leathery noses twitching at the smell of the wind, A different smell, an unusual smell, the smell of gunpowder, A Hunter! The deer, staring stunned at the new invaders, Delicate toothpick legs picking their way over the valleys, Tiny hooves crumbling the clay, Newborn fawns hiding in the scrub, Safe from civilisation, The bush quietens down, The birds start chirping again, The pinky peach sky rises over the ridge and the stag guides his hinds over the hills to rest.