The herd has gathered loosely around
an adult roe deer on the ground.
The black mare does not want it there.
She bites at its neck, pinning it down
and sending tufts of pale fur flying up.
The mare pummels it with both front hooves.
The other horses circle, tension
rising. Every time they approach, the mare
chases them off, ears back, teeth bared.
The brutal scene unfolds until –
what palpable relief – the deer is dead.
Outside, too, has seemed peculiar:
three oystercatchers on the cut grass
of the Norfolk Showground, their orange beaks
flashing neon as they probe for earthworms.
Verbatim Poetry 