The Buck in the Park

I was in the Sequoia park, Enclosed in a tangle of ivy, Enwrapped in likes of earthen-peace, Until at day’s dusk I saw a buck, Silent, poised on a bough of greenery.

He turned his great gentle head toward me, And his eyes reflected all nature’s ease— The soft dark of earth, the slant of the sun, And the blush of dusk in the sky of leaves.

Long stretches, he stepped off the path, Then vanished into the hug of the treetops; And I stood feeling, the power he gave: That life could be so simple.

• Edna St Vincent Millay