deer

there is something decidedly deliberate and final in the sound of a gun shot
sometimes startling
alarming
this morning strangely soothing
calming
quieting
someone hit a deer on the road below the house
injured but unkilled
a chp officer fired two slow shots
one...
...two
zane didn't bark
none of the neighboring dogs made a sound
later zane and i walk the property
he makes his morning rounds
investigating all the new smells
barefoot
coffee in hand
inhaling the cool morning air
i stop at the line of oleanders near the road and look across
a young deer in the grass at the edge of the road
so still
the soft morning light blanketing the quiet body
this is tranquility's hushed voice
i stand in its silence for a moment
a bird flits by
zane's tag a sprightly jangle close behind