Poetry By John CannonNature's Soul
Poetry By John Cannon From All-Creatures Animal Rights and Inspirational Poetry Archive

Animal Rights, Spiritual and Inspirational poetry that touch the heart and soul, and provoke the mind.

Nature's Soul
By John Cannon

Three mature does
and two nearly-full-grown fawns
browsing slowly
through our snow-dusted woods,

I stood absolutely still
as they approached,
trying so hard
not to move a single muscle;

hey saw me at about a hundred yards,
freezing their movement
and turning all eyes and ears
directly on my face;

They were wary, on high alert,
yet they seemed
more curious than afraid;

The lead doe
sharply stomped her hooves,
and one fawn drew close to her mother
nuzzling up against her face,

But after several tense moments,
they oh-so-cautiously
kept moving toward me,

Slow-stepping and always watching,
they moved their heads from side to side,
trying to get a better look
at this intruder in their woods;

Though somewhat chilled,
I was determined not to move at all
as they kept advancing
with their penetrating stares.

Sensing some permission,
the fawns moved closest in,
merely twenty feet or so
from where I held my place,

Their lustrous brown eyes
were so beautiful and clear,
so full of wonder
and the pure innocence of youth,

We stared openly at each other
while time became suspended,
all other sights and sounds
seemed to simply fade away;

Finally, the lead doe
decided it was time
to carry on
with finding food;

The five withdrew
as cautiously as they had approached,
watching me all the way
as they high-stepped through the woods;

My pulse was raised
and my senses were still on edge
but a spreading warmth enveloped me,

I closed my eyes
and once again
saw the gentle faces of the deer,

The shining dark pools
of fawn eyes
giving me a precious glimpse
into the depths of Nature’s soul.


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