In Suffolk

~

by Tuesday afternoon 

on our week away

she had them eating 

from her hand on the patio,

muntjac deer like toys

almost queuing up for

diced carrots and apples, 

~ from inside, with our noses

pressed against the window 

like children outside a 

Christmas toy shop we 

held our breath for fear 

of startling her brave fawns,

~ the forest from whence

they had tentatively stumbled 

was definitely old money if 

there could be such a thing

in woodland parlance,

the trees appearing

shabby but right in their own place

many of them having seen

better days and on life support

from over-verdant undergrowth,

~ as the week went on

we occasionally spotted jays

and woodpeckers too

flitting from trunk to trunk like

multi-coloured hotel inspectors 

rigorously checking out the bark

for evidence of bed bugs

*

© Graham R Sherwood 02/24