The Deer of Port Townsend
The deer are quite tame and plentiful in Port Townsend,
a delight to tourists from the mainland but a
bane to resident gardeners who lose their
freshman tomatoes and sophomore zucchini
to herds of soft silent raiders.
A doe practically poses for me behind the
For Rent sign planted in the front yard of
a pale blue cottage, as if
you could rent a deer any more than
you could rent a cloud or
make a down payment on a sunset.
A few years back I did manage to
put a midnight rainstorm on layaway
for pick-up in late June when the beans
and melons crave natural water,
knowing that a pair of fawns
behind the folds of a draping fog, would
enjoy freshly washed vegetables.
Dr. Ramon Presson is a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice on the hem of the south skirt of Nashville, Tennessee. The author of a dozen books in his field and a featured humor columnist in The Williamson Herald newspaper, Presson’s first literary love is poetry. He is a past recipient of an American Academy of Poets first place award and the Janice Keck Literary Award—both for collections of poetry. His works have been published in The Avocet, The Sun, Christian Century, and the Washington Post.
The deer are quite tame and plentiful in Port Townsend,
a delight to tourists from the mainland but a
bane to resident gardeners who lose their
freshman tomatoes and sophomore zucchini
to herds of soft silent raiders.
A doe practically poses for me behind the
For Rent sign planted in the front yard of
a pale blue cottage, as if
you could rent a deer any more than
you could rent a cloud or
make a down payment on a sunset.
A few years back I did manage to
put a midnight rainstorm on layaway
for pick-up in late June when the beans
and melons crave natural water,
knowing that a pair of fawns
behind the folds of a draping fog, would
enjoy freshly washed vegetables.
Dr. Ramon Presson is a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice on the hem of the south skirt of Nashville, Tennessee. The author of a dozen books in his field and a featured humor columnist in The Williamson Herald newspaper, Presson’s first literary love is poetry. He is a past recipient of an American Academy of Poets first place award and the Janice Keck Literary Award—both for collections of poetry. His works have been published in The Avocet, The Sun, Christian Century, and the Washington Post.
