The fawn’s blood jeweled
the roadside gravel. I pondered
those glazing eyes, the weak pulsation
of its nostrils, its relentless
glide into roadkill.
What price it paid to leap into being
without the constraints
our natures impose. I thought it
akin to a star’s burst of radiance
before its slow fade.
The fawn’s ear quivered as a car sped by
and a raven, bright-eyed, paced
just out of reach, waiting
for me to move on.
CJ Muchhala
CJ Muchhala’s work can be found in Never Forgotten: 100 Poets Remember 9/11, as well as other anthologies, print and on-line journals including Mobius: the Journal of Social Change, Rise Up Review, previous issues of Portage, and in art/poetry exhibits. Her work has been nominated for the Best of the Net and twice for the Pushcart Prize.
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