Seed's Poetry Corner: The Rut 2013 Series (Latest: "The Chase")

Seed's picture
The rut has always been a subject of...interest to me, and this is not the first time I've penned poems about the event or its participants. I hope, this year, to keep all my writing in one specific location, for the ease of attracting readers as well as my own organizational aid.
As this is a series, I recommend checking back often for more. Where I can, I'll note specific muses or dedications.


Most Recent
Opening Salvo | Before it Begins in Earnest | Silent Observer | The Chase




The Chase
Inspiration from Ramsus and Skuller

The two warriors give chase,
running the red ground ragged
sending dirt and grain flying
up and rolling down the hills,
following their hoofbeats.

A flock of birds in formation
whose wings rarely touch,
to brush feathers and to fly away
each to a corner, trying
to out-chase the other
in a cluster and clamor of hooves
of predators eating one another
in an ouroboros of cuts
scraping down their sides
As their antlers
fuse into one another
in the moment before retreat.






Opening Salvo

They circle, shout, and trumpet songs of war:
Oh come, oh come, come see! they sing and we
all cluster close, our breath like drums,
like hooves parading, battle drawing near.

And then! they rush, bang antlers, break the earth
with spiking steps! They clash and clatter, muscles
drawn tight and tines like knives that slice the air.
Bodies like brushes, paint autumn with battle.

Still yet: 'tis done before the pen's at work,
the words unshaped, this fight grows thin. And yet:
their call disperses all about the wood,
echoes that last, like ghosts, for weeks to come.





Before it Begins in Earnest
Inspiration from Verve and Lohtu

Bark and time being stripped
from the trees, leaving scars
that mark where the breath's held,
the shoulder muscles tensed,
the storm still locked in clouds.





Silent Observer
Inspiration from Nevilly

All below the creatures stir, clustered
in groups and alien games.
He takes you in the shadows
of his blossomed antlers,
matching your instincts to his breath,
his actions the same species,
His body's vocabulary in your language,
That all assemble, singing in.

I am a leaf in the autumn wind,
looking down, only blowing by
their hooves, only looking up
into their shadows.





The Chase
Inspiration from Ramsus and Skuller

The two warriors give chase,
running the red ground ragged
sending dirt and grain flying
up and rolling down the hills,
following their hoofbeats.

A flock of birds in formation
whose wings rarely touch,
to brush feathers and to fly away
each to a corner, trying
to out-chase the other
in a cluster and clamor of hooves
of predators eating one another
in an ouroboros of cuts
scraping down their sides
As their antlers
fuse into one another
in the moment before retreat.








((For more of Seed's work, please check out Seed's Poetry Corner))
Verdalas's picture

As always, I adore your work

As always, I adore your work here. :3 It paints a vivid image in my mind especially with the "bodies like brushes" part. It's a shame we can't have falling autumn leaves to add to the effect in-Forest!
Seed's picture

Falling leaves (besides the

Falling leaves (besides the ones that randomly fall) would be so nice ^^
Anyway, thank you very much for the sweet comment!...It's the only one I've gotten on anything in ages.
deathbydeer's picture

this is beautiful! i wish i

this is beautiful!Exclaim i wish i could write poems as good as this.
Avatar by Quad
Seed's picture

Thank you! The trick is the

Thank you!
The trick is the same as anything: practice, practice, practice.

wow, your poetry is simply

wow, your poetry is simply captivating and amazing.
Firefli's picture

I love this, and it is so

I love this, and it is so vivid and perfect c:
Seed's picture

Thank you both! I don't know

Thank you both!

I don't know about perfect, Firefli, but I do like it very much. It was a hard-fought battle to make words go in the right order.

Edit: Bumping for new poem! Seed was anxious to get something to write about to make this a proper series, and so ended up writing about waiting to find something to write about to make this a proper series.

Edit: Bumping for a new poem! Sometimes Seed is really writing about himself. Hopefully he'll actually find a good fight he'll be able to put words to, for a more traditional rut poem...Though, since Seed is the only deer who writes rut poems, aren't all his poems traditional rut poems?
Verdalas's picture

As always, loving your work,

As always, loving your work, Seed. <3
Narcissus's picture

Ooh, poetry! I love poetry.

Ooh, poetry! I love poetry. o3o

This poem is great. I love how the speaker is ambiguous 'til the end, at which point it is revealed that "he" is actually a leaf. Awesome. xP
Seed's picture

Thanks, Verdy. And thank

Thanks, Verdy.

And thank you, Grammarshine! Always nice to see a new commenter <3
I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Edit: Bump for a new poem!