Into the Woods, 18: Following the Deer (Part IV)

Psalm
by George Oppen

Veritas sequitur ...

In the small beauty of the forest

The wild deer bedding down —

That they are there!

                                  Their eyes

Effortless, the soft lips

Nuzzle and the alien small teeth

Tear at the grass

                                   The roots of it

Dangle from their mouths

Scattering earth in the strange woods.

They who are there.

                                    Their paths

Nibbled thru the fields, the leaves that shade them

Hang in the distances

Of sun

                                     The small nouns

Crying faith

In this in which the wild deer

Startle, and stare out.

skin

by Lynn Hardaker

i press

ochred hands onto the walls of this cave. my skin. my shelter.

my fingers crawl like night insects

to sing the running of the animals,

the wind of the chase, the beating of hearts and hooves

across the plains, of stone and dust.

each night i dream the chase

across my eyes’ black-lidded sky

each night

my body slick with sweat and smeared with ash

i run

as i run,

i hear the beating of the drum i’ve made -

taught and resonant - from my own skin,

feel the weight of the weapon i’ve made

from my own bone.

i leave the fire-painted walls

of this illusion

and i run

under the cool, many-eyed gaze of the night

i run until i feel my heart will beat its last beat and tear through my skin

i stop

my fear as dry as the dirt in my mouth.

i lower my antlers to the pool

and drink the stars.

The Faces of Deer
by Mary Oliver

When for too long I don't go deep enough

into the woods to see them, they begin to

enter my dreams. Yes, there they are, in the

pinewoods of my inner life. I want to live a life

full of modesty and praise. Each hoof of each

animal makes the sign of a heart as it touches

then lifts away from the ground. Unless you

believe that heaven is very near, how will you

find it? Their eyes are pools in which one

would be content, on any summer afternoon,

to swim away through the door of the world.

Then, love and its blessing. Then: heaven.

Deer tapestries above: The Woodland tapestry designed by John Henry Dearle for Morris & Co. (English, late 19th century); The Quest for the Holy Grail tapestry designed by William Morris for Morris & Co. (English, late 19th century); a detail from one of the four Devonshire Hunting Tapesteries (medieval French); one of the seven tapestries in the Hunt of the Unicorn series (medieval Dutch); and Tilly sits with the winged deer in the tapestry hanging over the studio sofa. (The design is medieval French.)

Publication credits: "Psalm" by George Oppen was published in New Collected Poems by George Oppen, 1965; "skin" by Lynn Hardaker was published in Mythic Delirium # 28, Winter/Spring 2013 issue; "The Faces of Deer" by Mary Oliver was published in New & Selected Poems, Vol. 2 by Mary Oliver, 2005.