Backyard buck

Behind my battered backyard fence,

bent boughs, bold bamboo, brazen kudzu

begin their annual green grab…again.

Morning moves slowly over moss.

With singing saw and steel bit

I split saplings in two and battle brush.

-Suddenly-

Through the green, a big, bewildered,

broad-chested, bristle-boned buck

bounds down the brambled bank.

Dry leaves dance. My heart hammers.

Ten feet from being trampled

a thunder of hooves.

-Just as Suddenly-

Happy, heedless, tongue tossing,

tail thrashing…a chocolate lab lopes

in chaotic loud pursuit.

I hold hands high,

my voice a hearty, “Hey! Hey!”

distracts the deer delirious dog.

Antlers aloft like a woodland crown.

the buck bounds back beyond

the boundary of my yard.

Brown lab lingers, licks my knuckles,

slobbers a toothy, doggy grin

and lumbers home.

Stunned and smiling, I

never dreamed my muddled, modest life

could burst in wild and whirling wonder.

I shake sawdust from sleeves

pick up my singing saw

and begin my battle…again

3-13-26

(a couple days ago a FB friend posted about a deer & dog invading her backyard oasis – I saw a poem hidden in the brambles.)