The Buck in the Snow
White sky, over the hemlocks bowed with snow,
Saw you not at the beginning of evening the antlered buck and his doe
Standing in the apple-orchard? I saw them. I saw them suddenly go,
Tails up, with long leaps lovely and slow,
Over the stone-wall into the wood of hemlocks bowed with snow.
Now he lies here, his wild blood scalding the snow.
How strange a thing is death, bringing to his knees, bringing to his antlers
The buck in the snow.
How strange a thing--a mile away by now, it may be,
Under the heavy hemlocks that as the moments pass
Shift their loads a little, letting fall a feather of snow--
Life, looking out attentive from the eyes of the doe.
Edna St. Vincent Millay
White sky, over the hemlocks bowed with snow,
Saw you not at the beginning of evening the antlered buck and his doe
Standing in the apple-orchard? I saw them. I saw them suddenly go,
Tails up, with long leaps lovely and slow,
Over the stone-wall into the wood of hemlocks bowed with snow.
Now he lies here, his wild blood scalding the snow.
How strange a thing is death, bringing to his knees, bringing to his antlers
The buck in the snow.
How strange a thing--a mile away by now, it may be,
Under the heavy hemlocks that as the moments pass
Shift their loads a little, letting fall a feather of snow--
Life, looking out attentive from the eyes of the doe.
Edna St. Vincent Millay
So lovely!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, yet sad, thanks!
ReplyDeleteThank you Neva and Jonie! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Barbara. Whether I look out my window or at the picture above, I see the same scenery. The poetry isn't too bad either! :-0)
ReplyDeleteHi Jim! I envy your window views then-- all dry/brown/dusty/ugly here!!
ReplyDeleteGlad you like the poem, too! ;)
wow, love this poem and image. i hate it when i hear someone say they go deer hunting, i cringe.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lorilynn! I can condone deer hunting for putting food on the table, especially in these trying times, but to do it just for sport is so wrong!
ReplyDeletebeautiful pic, living in wisconsin i see alot of these running about, some have even landed on the hood of my car! nice poem to go with it
ReplyDeleteYolo, I know just what you mean! When I lived in the woods in Arkansas, they were everywhere and several landed on cars many times over those years! Thank you for stopping by! :)
ReplyDeleteThat's an absolutely gorgeous image, Barbara!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Terry/Montucky! :)
ReplyDelete