the disappeared

the woods are silent, gentle grace …fading
deer-folk scattered and displaced, fading.

hunters encroached this sacred space
death himself leaned in, posthaste…fading.

they did not come at dusk to graze
the lovely doe with young erased…fading

bullet blasts had pierced the dusky haze
under cloak of night the fields were razed …fading

take time to grieve kat, these darks days
it’s a lot to take in, hate on display…fading
 
~kat

It all came crashing in today…did I tell you about the roadside roundup we saw on the main road near my home? There were two police cars, lights strobing as 4 officers surround a young man with light brown skin, wearing a baseball cap…my first thought…is it happening here now?

Then last night someone nearby was shooting a rifle, each round unsettling the peace, and all I could think about were the beautiful deer who graze on my property. “I hope they’re okay,” I thought.

Tonight was especially quiet, the turkeys made their usual trek up the hill toward the woods, but the deer who always pass through around the same time were nowhere to be seen. My heart sank. Did they succumb to that late night shooter…or did they just disburse into the mountains, frightened by the sound and of gunfire. I’m hoping the latter and that in a day or two I’ll see them again.

And then it hit me. I need to grieve. At first the firings and the deportations, the shuttering of institutions, etc., etc., etc., were a distant news event that disturbed and concerned me but had not yet touched me personally. This week we all felt the sting of a president gone dictator as we each became marks for his wave of destruction and cruelty.

I need to grieve every loss before the weight of it all breaks me. I still hope the deer return for a pass through from the far off hills. I hope that those who have been cruelly fired are able to find work, I hope those wrongly incarcerated or deported will be returned home. I grieve for them all, and for the broken global alliances that have been shattered by the heavy hand of a single man with an insatiable ego. I need to grieve what we’ve lost so far. I still grieve for the children separated cruelly from their parents during 45’s first term. I grieve for all the children. They don’t deserve the trash heap we’re leaving to them. So much to grieve that I’ve been holding inside trying to be strong.

That’s my glimmer for today. Stop holding your breath, waiting for the next horrible thing. The left shoe has dropped… breathe…let go the fear…the pain, as you exhale…now grieve and breathe again.

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you.

~kat ✨💚✨

A Ghazal for today’s NaGloPoWriMo 8 April 2025 prompt: try writing your own ghazal that takes the form of a love song – however you want to define that. Observe the conventions of the repeated word, including your own name (or a reference to yourself) and having the stanzas present independent thoughts along a single theme – a meditation, not a story.