tracks undeniable in tents
we caved our way
to unloaded prehistoric
promises I made

handfuls of romantic
golden lies lectured
in hypnotic magic messages
of breakfasts served

give me now and talk
about tomorrow tomorrow
put away those breadcrumbs
and labyrinth strings

laired up in neanderthal trappings
a fay wray playmate
that right now I want
and later may not

I have antlers
That grow from the pain
That I harbor, and the fear
I labor to repeat.

Emotions calcify
On limestone pastiche
That is a stalagmite birthright,
And growing brain-freeze.

Then the fighting—
I realize why I have antlers.
I have evolved to defend
To the end of this race.

I have scars
And bare flesh from wars
That are attacks
From other racks much bigger—

Bigger means bitter,
And my wounds soothe them
Like music and the savage beast—
A release and horn sharpening.

Then the predator—
I flee with the others hunted.
I am the wild that they wild for,
And my kind desert me.

I am tracked
By trophy hunters
Looking for the glory that I hold,
And the gold that they covet.

They choose to take my hooves
As proof that they are wise
And great, that no one will find
Among their kind a better specimen.

the elements
so smooth
so thoughtful

lullaby sea
air
and land

without
schedules
or reactions

bigger than
rocketing around
the sun

kept from
space sickness
by transom

grandness is
universal
grandness is
universe

it’s all night we really
travel
when the sky blinks