THE FALL OF THE FAWN

[Caro]

I

Each sunray entered the silent space,
Illuminating the languished look upon his face
As his daughter drew the dead likeness
Of a friend recently passed, now freed or furnaced.
What wonder did Michael wait for by the window?
With tapping toe and total focus
Both were bothered by the breaking below –
An earthquake at that moment exploded,
Pried them from their private thoughts
Which wanted similarity and soon would have it.
They found her friend in fetal position
For mere lack of insulin, his life was lost.
She startled her father with her strained grief
And he would soon have her alleviate his.
That day, the sun set on her innocence.
Oblivious to that fatal object he would offer
And the fearsome rush ripping through her father
The absence of which set him searching out the window.
When the shaking stopped, he saw what he sought
And leapt with lust down the long stairwell
To meet the man who made his mirth
And creamed the smoke before he climbed back up.

II

The man with curls and comely eyes
Was gaunt, governed by his grisly business
A Roman soldier’s body rotten and wrought
To naught but bones in need of flesh.
From full fortune and fame came he
His police chief grandfather gave him good blood.
Never should he have known what now he dealt
His wealth in white powder; he wasted his fate.
He did not want the cycle of addiction, considered it sin
But the claw of cocaine clave to his will
And set him to selling, always buying and selling.
He cared not for the constant customers crying
Who would as soon smash his skull, steal his stash…
Derek discovered that there is no love in dealing drugs.

III

One night, outside, near open gate
He spied the fawn, and a fair child he thought her
Innocent and so pure, with paper white skin and pinned curls
Watched the girl wonder at his gaze and walk up those steps.
Thereafter in his lonely sinful lair
He imagined her innocence in his arms
‘Til no thought tripped through his mind
Besides that beauty could bring him salvation.
He arranged his affairs cunningly,
That he might meet her as if by accident.
Then smiling, for he sensed her shyness
And felt her goodness fight the fiend
The lines on his mirror becoming less.
If he could hold her on high,
A shining example of pure unspoiled sereneness
A clean, calm spot in the stormy dirty cloud
A reminder of the right way to feel pleasure,
She alone could bring him back to getting better.
For her sake he should stop the dishonor.
He desperately wanted independence from the drug,
But Michael’s money meant rent.

IV

Now we must return to the demerited man
Whose idle addiction bred irrationality
Many months before the moment it all changed
For his position of power veiled the party.
The sweet young girl suspected her father
For his increasingly lost interest in everything
Except that which he eagerly awaited
The substance stole his soul without a struggle.
Around the home it was hard for her
To make out father’s mood
She couldn’t comprehend the cause of changes
So she cried silent tears and just tried to please him.
A daughter’s devotion does nothing,
For Love cannot overcome one
Whose primary hope and goal is to get high
Once having that feeling, he forgot all about her.
Always, his mind was on where Derek was
For he funded the business with embezzled money
To keep control of the crack supply
Without which, a weary hell no addict wants to endure.
During a deal, Derek inquired of his daughter
And received rage devoid of reason
Though once there had been one;
No sane parent wants a crack head for a son.
“You stay away from her”! Michael screamed and stalked out
Not to return until he had run out of drugs.

V

“I saw a man in the stairwell, father
With you, and I wanted to know
Him, why did you not invite him in?
The same man smiles at me and I cared to see it again”.

“No! Never will you know him
He is evil and base in every way
Without fair motivation to befriend you
Stay away daughter, and never speak of him again”.

If he’s so base and hated, what business has he with father?
Thought the fawn, though no answer presented
Itself to her innocence, which could not imagine
The vice very much consuming the two men.

VI

The day after the earthquake dawned
Preciousness pawned in service to lust.
No sleep had met Michael. He mused at the blazing morn -
A repeat occurrence, the ration too small
To sustain his appetite through the night, so now he suffered.
As each hour of that early morning inched by,
His irritation grew, and he got impatient
His head, and the blood pounding in his heart were hurting him.
How to go about getting more?
He needed dope, but nothing could be done
For Derek was resting, recovering from three days with none.
Every likely excuse raced through his mind
But all had been previously played.
“Oh, cruel Dawn,” he cried
Got down to his knees and dredged the carpet
Seeking forgotten rocks, and tricked by his sight
Collected pathetic piles of crumbs and candle wax.
From out this deep despair he drew his composure
Barely in time to beat his bright daughter to breakfast.
He was not hungry…but how full her lips! How shined her hair
How beautiful his babe had grown! How now he cared.
There at the table he told her the truth
As much as it suited his advantage.
“He says you are his soul mate, you know, he smiles
When speaking of you, he yearns to meet you and love you
But for my wedge, he’d have asked to wed you
For he believes you’re already his bride”.
The words fell full wonderful on her ears
And turned the troubling situation from her mind,
Brought a blush to that bright face
For such certain love she had intense want.
No time had she to tarry on the thought
Of the mysterious man before Michael started back up
“Take this tonic to him, that he might wake
It may be difficult, but do not despair,
For your fair faith in his love shall revive him”.

VII

Derek drew breath in a deep, dreamless sleep
His body begged the state, could barely operate
Without that rest and long repose
Yet some sound insisted he rise…
Torn from his bed, as if in a trance
He stumbled to the sound, loud insistent tapping
He flung the door forward – and froze,
For now his space the innocent fawn entered.
Eternity met tragedy in that long minute
Mired in each other’s gaze like mud
Their blue eyes connected by invisible beam
Unbroken and unexplained until the girl spoke.
“The restraint has been removed.
I’ve been asked to bring you this drink…”
There she paused; something in his posture
Alerted her that all was amiss.
He knew, now that she was near
The danger of that world would destroy her.
His voice all cracked and course with honesty:
“Please, please… come back when I’m not a crack head”.
Her confused face showed no comprehension
She missed the word that might have made her go
And in her innocence again inquired
“Will you take this tonic or won’t you”?
With a sigh, he stepped aside
Now conscious of the cocaine supply
He drank the cup down to the dregs
And begged her to stay; the sun would set before his return.
She knew not where he needed to go
But stayed in his space, thinking
Drinking in the dream of love,
Unsuspecting of the ugly event about to unfold.
Sleep stole her consciousness.
When she woke, she wondered at the dark
And wandered slowly back to her own space.

VIII

Behold, the two men burning, fire reflects liquid black in their eyes
She crouched in a shadow, waiting and watching
Horrified at the scene spread before her.
Her father, her hopeful lover and fire
Creating, desiring the result of that chemical concoction…
Crazy glazed eyes focused on extracting the crack.
Mid-hit Michael caught his breath and choked
And they both were lit as if by hunter’s light
The sight of the fawn wondering what was going on.
Her interruption mattered not to Michael
So long as she didn’t stop him.
Denying any better action could be done,
He passed the pipe on to his daughter.
Derek died inside – he would forever feel the pain
That moment, potential was broken, they would never become
The perfect pairing, for he needed to purge
Himself of the scourge that soured him, made him impure
But too late, the fawn fell into the scene
And sealed their fate.

[Funk Doctor]

Ooooh.. purdy.

[Luke]

dude.... more than pretty.... moving, sad, and eloquent. that english major is evident.

[GodHand Kronix]

No...just purdy. Awesome job Caro.

[Weedguru Sensei]

<---amazed

[BUDA]

yea thats a really nice poem and all but i was tricked into reading it

i demand naked pictures!

[blazedmanty]

where are the naked pix?

[Tripped]

lol, if they don't read your poetry, trick em', very nice. by the way your poetry is incredible, maybe you could make money selling your poems.

[Midnight Toker]

Pssh, it didn't even rhyme

Just kidding, i'm very, very impressed. The poem's amazing, great job.

[Caro]

Actually, it does rhyme. I used an alliterative rhyming scheme, which means you rhyme the consonents instead of the vowels. It's an old form that isn't very common anymore, but alliteration is an important part of any poetry. If you incorporate it into another rhyme scheme, it sounds really good. (I did use some internal rhyming, and those are the most poetic passages).

Thank you, everyone, for reading, and I'm sorry I tricked you. You have to admit, my poems get more covereage than any others.

I have to perform it on Friday!

[Midnight Toker]

Actually, it does rhyme. I used an alliterative rhyming scheme, which means you rhyme the consonents instead of the vowels. It's an old form that isn't very common anymore, but alliteration is an important part of any poetry. If you incorporate it into another rhyme scheme, it sounds really good. (I did use some internal rhyming, and those are the most poetic passages).

Well, that told me I know absolutely nothing about poetry, but that all sounds very impressive.