For a Friend Whose Love Has Left

....they only moved their heads
with a slight sway of the proprietary,
waiting until he'd gone
to dip their heads and eat again.
They've come because the hills are dry.
They bring him calm, the neighbor says.
Here and there they've eaten branches bare,
but still, he hopes they'll stay until the rains.
Then another year will end.
Across the bay, you'll watch the hills give way
to green the deer will feed on....

by Lynne Knight