Escape

In response to “Opening Exodus,” painted by D.S., incarcerated

If a leap could be laughter,
this deer bounding
over a fallen log
toward the forest and safety
is just that.

In the distance,
someone uniformed
in hunter orange
back turned, scans
the wrong horizon.

If laughter could be a sob,
this stag’s body
is just that,
front hooves tucked near his breast
like hands in prayer.

Sheryl Slocum is a retired English language teacher who lives in West Allis, Wisconsin. Her poetry appears in numerous literary publications, and her book, Leaving Lumberton, was published by Wipf and Stock in 2022. Sheryl is a member of the Hartford Avenue Poets and the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets.