Page 30 - Dark Matter Women Witnessing

Jennifer Finley

Deer

At night, I lie beneath the stars, year round.

I smell like open sky, snow, and lake water.

Nobody has to tell me my face is holy and beautiful.

I dream in a language your people used to know.

Woman, I see you and your children looking at me

through car windows and house windows.

I smell your children’s breath when they step outside.

The blood in your veins is not so different than mine

that pulses warm on moonlit winter nights

as you listen to your offspring breathing.

We are not so different. We both gave birth.

We both smelled danger in a man’s angry voice.

We both know when to run and when to hide.

We both know how to kick with our strong legs.

We both know we are the ones on which someone else depends.

We are the ones with the power of moonlight in our hair.

We are the ones with the beauty of this land imbedded in us.