Roaming auburn sea, broad birch and old oak,

Autumns bitter chill warmed by dawn chorus,

Sunlight dances in the grass's morning dew,

Buzzing forest falls silent around me.



Sharp, unseen eyes drilling into my back
,
From distant bush, shivering with movement,

One eye closed, and one narrows in on me,

A deafening flash, leaps from narrowed eye.

In my chest, dull ache builds to searing pain
,
Heart beats fast, time flows slow, the eyes surge up,              

Tall and slender, out of place, there it stood,
Watching keenly with fixed gaze, poised to pounce.                

As all who live here naturally know,

Avoid the slender beings, immortal, 

Whose bodies or bones have never been seen,

Throughout the forest, they walk with no fear.

Crimson warmth dripping forth, I sprint away,

Through forest, thickets and farmland I flee,

No sign of pursuit, pause at ancient oak, 

Strength ebbs from my wound, spiral into sleep.



Woken by twig snap, piercing still dusk air,

Those determined eyes, gleam in the moonlight,

Scan the treeline, ruthless and resolute,

How did it find me, called by beating heart ?



Running again, heart pounding, chest burning,

All breath is gone, the world spins around me,

Glowing eyes loom, announced by loud footfalls,

Ten feet away they lock with mine and freeze.

Heavy antlers burden my weary head, 

Tired of running, i hold the humans gaze,

Arms raised to two eyes, one eye, narrowing,

A fingers twitch, a sudden flash, darkness.