augury with deer

I tried to leave the deer
             in common places I am from
standing in the door
where river becomes wind
             
River pushed this door into me where I
                          considering the screen
knew the danger
             velvet pushing blood in eyes
             implication of polished bones
             
»
             
The first time a large buck stood in my path
black water welled at my feet
                          thick like syrup, or blood, or —
             
The night already perspired What else
             does the sky hide?
             
                          A meadow
where I saw my bones dressed and laid
to rest, turned field by polished points
             split feet
             
»
             
Lift the stone—
             these are still auspicious days
             
Three bucks chase the road I carry
from the mountain
             
I wanted to be small like the fawn
             nursing on the side of the road
but my limbs won’t fold
             
Already water pools
Black water wells over the bones we have shed
             
             
             

Abigail Chabitnoy is a poet of Aleut descent. She is currently an MFA candidate at Colorado State University and works as a freelance editor and proofreader. Her work is forthcoming in Hayden's Ferry Review and Pleiades.