With holes in their necks
where they might have last kissed
or nuzzled,
not one, but two deer, frozen,
gently surface
from a dune on the shore.
Their empty eye sockets
gaze upon each other –
bridal veil of sand pulled back
by the sea –
ritual minister of joy
and last rites.
Were they driven from their families,
a hunted Romeo and Juliet?
Did they come down to this water
like you and I
to drink and die together from the beauty
of sunrise?
My black jacket flapping
in the wind,
I join ravens
picking at the choice bits.
I hear your voice –
snow owl, prophetic wife,
your scorn stiff with salt
and rime.
The Sunday Muse
qbit 
Stark images, unsettling. The voice in this is great. Your word choices, filled with the sacred and sacrilegious, put me on edge and then assuming the raven persona makes it all the more surreal. Well done!
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Full of stunning imagery this has a powerful punch Qbit. I love how you captured something deep from both images. Amazing poetry!!
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Thank you!!!
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A Salvador Dali-meets-Ingmar Bergman poem: death has given up playing chess and now walks a white dog on the dunes. It’s already been said about the powerful visuals. Well worked, Randall!
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Ahahaha! That’s perfect. Thanks!
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Anytime!
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Your ability to take an image/images and wander into a no-man’s poetry land delight ~~ no mean feat.
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Thank you!!
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Were they driven from their families,
a hunted Romeo and Juliet?
Some misfortune must have occurred. Beautiful word craft!
Hank
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Thanks Hank!
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From those first lines this salts itself beneath the skin. And it calls to mind the community ravens create.
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And don’t forget the wise owls!
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I so love this poem. I wanted to copy and past the whole thing.
“Their empty eye sockets
gaze upon each other –
bridal veil of sand pulled back
by the sea –
ritual minister of joy
and last rites.” What an impressive visual
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Thank you so much!
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Definitly a trouble here.
It is in my troubleshooting nature as an Aerospace Engineer to find reasons and solutions for problems.
I would say that there must have been a terrible drought and its famine in much of Africa. And that a modern day Noah and his crew rounded up some survivors and brought them here. Thus he saved their species and humanity for another period.
..
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Damn, I’m always overlooking the obvious, lol! Thanks for stopping by.
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I really enjoyed the last two verses, there is deep symbolism in the contrast and it it left me spellbound. Wonderful work and I wonder about Romeo and Juliet last drink.
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I like the scornful snow owl wife! I think we could be friends.
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Oh for sure. Snow Owl Wife: “WTF are you doing, get away from those disgusting things! What are you thinking? Did you *touch them*??? Were you born yesterday???””
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Incredible imagery in this, q! It feels eerie to me.
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WOW. This:
“Did they come down to this water
like you and I
to drink and die together from the beauty
of sunrise?”
And that last line. Stunning.
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Thanks!!!
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WOW:
“to drink and die together from the beauty
of sunrise”
the last two stanzas
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