Deer in My Yard by Karen Raskin-Young

Pick Up Your Pen Contest
Northern Arizona Book Festival
Raskin-Young 

 DEER IN MY YARD

by Karen Raskin-Young

Flagstaff is the Alps in Arizona,

Snowy peaks, rocky crags,

Hiking, biking,

Skiing, snowplay,

And deer in my yard.

It's science, concerts,

Theater, museums,

Restaurants, festivals,

Art fairs, County Fair,

And deer in my yard.

They used to be rare, these deer,

But now they're here often,  

Searching for nesting spots:

Scraping spaces in wood chips, 

Settling in, staying for hours.

Most days there are two, four, seven.

Mothers and daughters

Babies in Bambi spots,

Young males with small antlers,

Even bucks with long points.

Sometimes one alone.

She gazes, chewing her cud,

Her limbs folded into tinkertoys

Body in heaps,

At home at my home.

Nibbling, resting,

Grooming each other,

Chasing, following,

Looking for shade

And seasonal salad bars.

In spring I plant

Flowers and vegetables,

Grasses and bushes,

And watch them come up.

Then deer graze; no color remains.

This year I've decided to share.

I'll plant what they don't eat:

Coneflowers, tall grass,

Russian sage, daisies – 

Leaving for them the plants that grow wild.

I'd rather compromise than have

No deer in my yard.