Today an unexpected gift
To come upon a grazing deer
She looked at us and stood quite still
Likewise did we to keep her there.

So gaze I did as she returned
To munching on the grass nearby
The timing gave me such a lift
As it was four years since my mother died.

I was in need of such a sight
The deer have long been named my totem
And on this day I could delight
In such a gracious, sacred moment.

Lori Cole