Dry Velvet
The seed germinated
where the stag fell.
Its tree grew too fast –
too close to heaven –
and it was punished
for its pride.
In the winter storm
two boughs crashed down;
a pair of antlers
that were abandoned
by the wind's
trophy hunters.
They were bleached
into bone
by the weak sun;
covered in dry velvet
by bucks using them
as a rubbing post.
Susan Darlington’s poetry regularly explores the female experience through nature-based symbolism and stories of transformation. It has been published in the UK and US (Fragmented Voices, Algebra Of Owls, Dreams Walking, and Anti-Heroin Chic among others). Her debut collection, Under The Devil's Moon, was published by Penniless Press Publications (2015). Follow her here: @S_sanDarlington.