I’m pouring my morning coffee
when a motion catches my eye.
Two fawns scamper from the woods
to stand in the clearing at its edge.
They graze on the grass and nibble leaves,
pausing, heads raised, to survey
the surrounding sights and sounds.
Awareness is their only protection.
That, and their speed.
They can vanish in an instant.
But they stay for maybe three minutes.
Then they are gone, leaving me to think
how lucky I am to live in a time and place
where young deer can appear
mere yards away. Like them,
such a time can vanish in an instant.
That’s the plan, you know.
I sip my coffee and give thanks
for this now, my mind still awed
by the privilege of seeing baby deer.