The Stag

A stag in the late light,

suddenly centered, waiting.

Tears spring to his eyes. Life’s end,

the abstraction of being, until this moment,

a dreamy hypothesis of the natural order,

how one passes from youth to the harder edge

of a man’s existence, now the reality of whether

he has the seed of Artemis inside him.

Could it be the hesitation I feel

in his finger, the unwillingness to pull back

and let the arrow of destruction fly,

is Calliope’s whisper of a different resolution,

the path of a poet being summoned?

 

Another season winding down, the wind

tousling forelocks, finds him, tarrying

at the end of life’s ledge. Still

listening, waiting for Calliope --

whisper of how Artemis resolved

the day he took up the pen, locked away

his arrows, and gave life to the stag

he’s never forgotten -- the tears in those eyes.

 

Ken e Bujold

Reviews

[Chris Shaw]

Took me to the highlands you did in the days of Queen Victoria. Saw the look in the stag’s eyes before the trigger was pulled. And then you brought me up to date.

how one passes from youth to the harder edge of man’s existence

I thought of my brother and dad who did not live to become old men

This is a terrific piece ken because it has so much packed in it and I travelled to many places and had a myriad of thoughts. A piece which needs to be revisited many times.

Chris

[Ken e Bujold]

thanks chris. this is part of Landscape, though i think it still in need of a little polish, not much tinkering, just the odd tweak. glad you enjoyed

[Lorry]

I was held up for four hours on Thursday after a wayward stag crashed through the car in front of men's windscreen, which even for me in the car behind was like being given a caffeine suppository about three seconds after realising it is a near lethal dose. In other words, it woke me up so quickly that it felt like I had thus far been dreaming my waking life.
Luckily for the lady driving the car in front of me, it went through the passenger side, which I later heard was most fortunate for the passenger she was about to pick up.
She was the most rational hysterical woman I had ever met, as she calmly took 18 breaths to every one of mine, as she said thank expletive my husband was taking the kids to school!
I wonder if she got to sleep the next night or realised she hadn't blinked the whole day, as I felt I had taken a boxfull of proplus tablets (caffeine tablets)
I couldn't stop thinking about how it wasn't the start to the day the stag had hoped for either!
Don't worry though, as I have managed to slap myself down to just a slight panic and it has been confirmed that my heart rate is now down to going only three rounds with Mike Tyson.
I doubt the lady involved will.ever be reading poetry about the majestic stag any time soon either! 😊
If I had come across this one earlier, I would be imagining the magnificent beast breaking through the morning fog on a silence filled Glen,, looking elegant (especially for that time in the morning) but now I can only hear that squelching sound you only usually hear in childhood, when you place a straw up a frogs a*s and blowing really hard!
Such a beautifully written piece, completely spoiled by my own inner thoughts that more closely resemble the deleted scenes from platoon. But on the plus side, she'll never have to buy another venison burger again! (If they let her keep it)

[Ken e Bujold]

incredible story Lorry. Glad to see all two legged participants came out of the ordeal unscathed. You say if only you read before the incident, now i reply if only i'd read your tale prior to the crafting,.. certainly wouldn't have included the greeks. :))) thanks for stopping by friend