How to See a Deer (Not my Sermon)

While walking with Sophie on our familiar trail, we came upon a deer. She did not flinch or run away. Sophie stood there transfixed. Even her adorable wiggle-butt remained still for just a brief moment. It was just an ordinary moment. But a singular one.

How to See a Deer

Forget roadside crossings.

Go nowhere with guns.

Go elsewhere your own way,

lonely and wanting. Or

stay and be early:

next to deep woods

inhabit old orchards.

All clearings promise.

Sunrise is good,

and fog before sun.

Expect nothing always;

find your luck slowly.

Wait out the windfall.

Take your good time

to learn to read ferns;

make like a turtle:

downhill toward slow water.

Instructed by heron,

drink the pure silence.

Be compassed by wind.

If you quiver like aspen

trust your quick nature:

let your ear teach you

which way to listen.

You've come to assume

protective color; now

colors reform to

new shapes in your eye.

You've learned by now

to wait without waiting;

as if it were dusk

look into light falling:

in deep relief

things even out. Be

careless of nothing. See

what you see.

~~Philip Booth