. . . . . .

By me, a stag

kept for use

in conversion

gaunt missionary

to the soil, speaks

to it tilting

into the ground

heavy ores that

would otherwise

remain with me

where first

they appeared.

The months are

a gift that it gives

to the rooms

where it nests,

a greater hart

growing within it:

the colour of dirt

a friend of mushrooms

its seal encircled

by a gentle decay.