WILDLIFE

By city standards, the wilderness

behind my house is vast and

inhabited by all the usual denizens,

some of whom make it difficult

to feed the cat outside.

Damned ‘coons and ‘possums!

The inconvenience of their thievery

is ameliorated by a proud stag

with a broad rack and his harem

of satisfied does. I’ve seen them do

what deer do when I try to sneak up

the driveway I cut through their home.

Heads up.

Freeze in place.

Eyes to me.

He snorts to his girls

because he knows

he’s stuck in a better

rut

than I.

Author's Note

Ravin' Ink prompt for 2/15/2025

Reviews

[John the Baptist]

If he has a harem of satisfied does, he's in a damned good rut. He must be good at rutting.

[Vol]

John,
They all seemed happy to be there...
Vol

[Lorry]

Damn right he does! Mortgage and tax free, with a harem to choose from whenever the urge takes him.
We have deer here that get everywhere. They get on the train tracks and ruin people's commute and they escape the wilds of fields to the forests and trails near me.
I told Katie once not to shuffle your feet and don't look eyes with them and now she can get much closer to them than I can, but maybe not too close is a good thing for both. They carry Lymes disease I think and I'm told that is not pleasant at all.
Oh, apologies for that. I meant to leave a review but somehow ended up becoming a teacher... must have been that geography teachers jacket, which is a callback to my last review of yours! (Just in case anyone reads this and thinks "he's lost it!) 😃
But staying with the education theme, we come across their antlers all the time up here. The makes knock theirs off in winter, which is a lead to my next shocking revalation, which you will not believe but feel free to google.... Rudolph the redness reindeer must have been a girl!!!!
Don't worry, I'll wait for you to google it and be gobsmacked by it too!
😃
Ps... what other secrets are we hiding? I mean, Jesusina Christ man! I've always wondered if Micky and Minnie were one and the same! 😃

[Vol]

Excellent stuff, my friend, Do Reindeer stags lose their antlers? hmmm Oh, I just checked with Alexa and she says you are right, the males drop theirs in the fall, the does in the spring...
Vol

[Lorry]

So either every Christmas card is lying or rudie is a chick! 😃

[Vol]

Transgender.......

[Poetic Beauty]

I like be the thievery of the coons and possum. They are sneaky and sly critters. The description of nature stands out and the buck with his harem is cleverly written about and is comical with the commentary from a human perspective gave me a smile. There is something wonderful and awe inspiring about nature

[Vol]

PB,
They are all kind of cool, wild or tame...
Vol

[---]

Well, stuck ruts besides, it seems you've stuck the landing here.

Another quality read, following a string of quality reads Vol - 'ppreciate your sharing.

-Ook

[Vol]

Ook,
Thank you so much... And, as you mentioned, some ruts are better than others, especially if you are a tall stag with a harem.
Vol

[---]

I'm a young buck, still, Vol - the tall stags beat me too.

Cheers,

-Ook

[Ms claws]

There's another word I've never heard...ameliorated. I DID research it.
"the reform did much to ameliorate living standards".
.
I adore these bits and pieces of your life! I can just see all that! Heads up. Their eyes fixed on you but waiting for the MALE to tell them what to do! Great response to the prompt! What was it? (READ YOUR MAIL, ...I need your permission on something... at your leisure, my love ;-)

[Vol]

I have a biker friend who's put over a million miles on his bikes, he is also a creative writing professor (retired) who used to pass out some of his own essays for his students to study. The next day he'd as who had studied them and all hands would shoot up. Then he'd pass out a vocabulary test from it... hardly anyone passed... but YOU would have!
Writing this is entirely from memories of my life in Tennessee... Oh, do I miss trees and creeks!
Vol

[Ms claws]

Tennesee. I visited my sister when she lived in Murphy, NC, and we went to Fields of the Wood and could see into Tennesee from there! Thanks for your confidence that I would pass that test But I actually failed the eighth grade. Wow! A MILLION miles! That is a LOT of riding! You have a great memory! I adore your stories. I'd purchase your book if you have one published.

[Vol]

Glenda,
Thank you! I don't have one published... I did a couple of chap books twenty years ago or so, an one magazines... but have no idea how to really publish something... If I ever do i'll give you one...
Vol

[Ms claws]

Vol, Yeppers, sadly, I tried to help Dave W. get his awesome poems published But ran into a million brick walls. Everybody wants BiG MONEY. It's sad people like you don't have an avenue to put your wonderful experiences in print for others to enjoy and appreciate.

[Ms claws]

WHAT AM I SAYING? YOU DO IT HERE! Love you, babe.

[Vol]

Aw, Glenda,
You know, there was a time till a little less than a hundred years ago, people thought poetry was important, waiting with bated breath for the next edition of their favorite poet... but poetry requires thought and nobody wants to do that anymore...
Love you back,
Vol

[Ms claws]

PM Vol.,please