THE DAY NATURE TURNED MILD

(This is about an experience I had in the spring a couple of years ago)

We were just at that time of the year,
In the annual change of the atmosphere,
When spring had melted what winter snowed,
And the does gave birth to little deer.

I was driving my truck down the county road,

Through fields growing with what was sowed.
When ahead stepped a deer from behind some trees,
Then a fawn, coming from grass unmowed.

The two proceeded; they were quite carefree,

Crossing the road out in front of me.
The doe ran when my truck caught her eye.
The fawn also looked, but did not flee.

It instead turned and watched me go by.

“I wonder what he can be thinking,” thought I.
I looked in the mirror and he was still there,
So I stopped the truck, though I didn’t know why.

I expected the fawn to sniff the air,

See me walking toward him and run off with a scare.
Instead, he took a tiny step toward me,
Then did something most unusually rare.

I stopped at the ditch and went down on one knee,

And held out my hand for the fawn to see.

The doe made no sound, simply watched instead.

And the little fawn ran right up to me!

 I took my hand and pet its little head

“Aren’t you the nice one,” I softly said.
Then the doe gave a snort; she called to her child.
And the little deer turned from me and fled.

For one brief moment, nature turned mild.

It was the day I pet a fawn in the wild.
It happened along the county road,
I was on one knee in some grass unmowed.