Obituary
My darling deer, I miss your muzzle sweet,
Your teardrop tail, your form faint and petite,
Those doey eyes—although you are a buck—
With one quick glance, by lightning I am struck,
In utter shock, my faint heart skips a beat.

Without you, love, I'm wholly incomplete,
And now alone, my mind does me mistreat,
For all these thoughts are left to run amok,
My darling deer,

To linger on, abandoned, is a feat,
And yet I feel the end approach: defeat,
There is no other way to get unstuck,
For life itself seems clouded by this muck,
My dear, soon you and I again shall meet,
My darling deer.

-Charles Michael Averin