someone’s at the door (20210408)

deer scratches the front of his narrow face
with a dirty hoof– (do they
have hooves)–leaving a smear of mud
on the bridge on that long
long nose

–what you need, he says,
is a set of antlers
i’d lend you mine but i’m
using them right now

he shrugs, or tries to
his shoulder blades aren’t made
for fake apologies

i toss him an apple anyway
he catches it out of the air
the way my dog might
and bounces away like his legs
are made of pogo sticks

wolf has not let go of my wrist
and leers up at me
smile frothy with his saliva
my blood

–personally, he says
i would have waited
until he helped you out
before wasting that apple

but wolf would not have
exchanged my hand
for the apple
and deer has got his own thing
going on
and as wolf’s teeth sink deeper
i shrug, or try to
it seems my shoulder blades aren’t made
for fake apologies
either