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A couple of poems by Sha'Tara, local writer and friend...
Death of an Earth Angel
[thoughts from ~burning woman~ by Sha'Tara]
Sidewalk slick with early Winter rain not yet icy,
not yet sleet nor snow, undecided
sometime in afternoon
after school has closed
she walks alone under crying maples
by the ancient cemetery so full of old ghosts,
parka neatly closed, head in false fur-lined hood
a soft brown face smiling at life, at
everything in particular,
brown eyes watching natural, guileless
not warily, not yet, not yet
under long eyelashes collecting raindrops.
A human child, perhaps of nine years,
perhaps of ten or twelve, a native child,
perhaps happy in childhood fantasies
quite innocent, still
full of wonder and latent trust
considering an open deck
of life cards not yet dealt,
table not yet filled of card sharks and cheats.
I drive by and I see her again at that time
walking alone. Smiling. Of course.
Then she is no longer there:
for the cards were dealt viciously, cruelly
and she lost, not just the hand but the game.
Under a pile of leaves, she was hidden
some days, some weeks later perhaps, found
and I wondered when I heard
realizing it was she, the little earth angel
of sidewalk slick with early Winter cold, wet,
not yet icy, undecided,
of neatly closed parka and head in false fur hood
who smiled at something no one could see
now no longer here to bring it life:
O Earth, thou hast truly been cursed in your ways,
in all your sickened wayward ways
without understanding
for what kind of world kills its child angels?
Can you stop your madness, if for a moment
and answer that One question
for an occupant?
A Piebald Deer Crossed the Road
[a poem by Sha'Tara]
A piebald deer, white-tailed,
crossed the highway
just in front of my truck (today).
I drive a white truck, a van actually.
It attracts deer, this vehicle:
already had the front end rebuilt
from previous David and Goliath encounter.
David won that tournament (so I heard)
but the tale ends badly for him
'cause he died by the side of the road
and Goliath after some serious reworking
of his shiny but cheap made in China armor
lives on to posture another day.
I remembered the tale of the Valley of Elah*
(though I wasn't the driver when that happened)
and I slowed right down today anticipating
another attack whether by sling, hoof or horn.
Two brown deer, as normal as can be, casually
crossed the road and went on their way
through a smelly rain-soaked field of rotting cabbage
and I thought, that's that
when this weird-looking creature
bounced in front of my vehicle
wagging oversized ears and snorting:
it was indeed a piebald deer.
I had never seen one of those
and it looked strange to me, most unacceptable.
That's the way it is, isn't it, with perception:
what is familiar we easily accept
but at the unfamiliar, the mind balks
making acceptance difficult in all things
for we are by nature suspicious and superstitious.
So I checked and yes, they do exist,
not just as some figment, the piebalds,
deer and / or otherwise designed
by whomever or whatever, some designate
as Creator. It has a sense of humor,
I'll grant it that.
*ref: Valley of Elah – First Samuel, Chap. 17 (the Bible)
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for sharing these poems Regis! Blessings
and keep on caring for others!
Much Love,
Margaret
As for the piebold deer, you should have killed it, for we cannot let Nature's imperfection live to reproduce. [this statement is no me, but an unfortunate many].
Ron
Your friend writes brilliantly in both poems. Her last question is one I ask so often with no answers in return. I have never seen a piebald deer but would like to sometime. It pains me to see deer lying by the road run down by vehicles that are really trespassing on their land. Of course the pain of a lost earth angel is beyond words.
Micki
Best regards,
Leland
Well done.
God bless,
Lew
Anna
--Liz
Namaste
Tony