– 32 –

A pastoral

There are cows
in the paddock
lying down and
standing up.
Deer he says.
Not dear as in
beloved, which is what
people mistakenly and
affectionately think, but rather
the rougher kind
with antlers and hooves. Yes
like deer but not. He is
insistent deer, deer
and there
it goes
his first word
tripping silently off
into the dark forest.