Deer in the headlight

why did it freeze with fright?
immobile with fear?
who could blame the deer
in the headlight
when this wasn’t
what it’d bargained for
a pair of light
so overwhelming,
so bright.
with its bulging eyes and fixed stare
gone in a nanosecond
of a quivering flare


maybe we shouldn’t be very critical
of the deer in the headlight
for it may never have known
that hard metal was were
the floods of blinding light
were mounted
nor did it learn of the nightly habits
of those who excelled at evolution
but failed when exhalations of breath
were sampled


it’d be futile to argue
who got the right of way
when the deer stood still
in the headlight
nor we could know for sure
whether the deer had it all planned
had us all scammed
with his primal fears
his proclamation
his sneer:
your impressive gear
is nothing but an entrapment
my own primordial jeers
are your predicament


and then there’s the ritual
of scraping body parts
of washing blood and dry bones
of becoming entrenched in the philosophy
of prevention
of commemorating headstones

Please! No more deer in the headlight


and then there are the groups
who vow to sue
who revel in self-introspection
long overdue
as if everyone else had no clue
as if mattered
to the deer
in the headlight