The Deer Answered

I do not run because I’m afraid

I run
Because sometimes I just want to feel the wind
Before it decides to leave me

My better days spent standing in the tall grass
Still
Listening to the silence
Between the trees
Because that’s where the danger is

They called me fragile.
Soft.
Skittish.

But they never respected all the times
I’ve stepped out into the clearing anyway

I was born to know when to flee
But more importantly,
I’ve learned to know when to stay

Even with the ache.
Even with the noise.
Even with the hunters inside us.

For I am not only my fears.
I am also the wildness
That has survived this long
Without the outside world
Interfering