Poem: "Deer Children"
This poem came out of the January 7, 2014 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from wyld_dandelyon and siege. It also fills the "kidfic" square in my 12-8-13 card for the Genprompt Bingo fest. This poem was sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the series Hart's Farm. You need to read " Snow-Driven" first or this one will make noooo sense.
Deer Children
It was Astrid who started it,
fashioning a pair of antlers
out of birch branches,
although Drífa did not
even have antlers yet.
Then Bjarni dragged a tablecloth
of pure white linen onto the floor
and wrapped himself up in it
so that he could be like his sister.
Birgitta found a set of sleigh bells
and Engelbert brought out a basket.
Klara gave them a rope of braided rags
that was meant for making a rug
but wound up becoming a harness instead.
The larger children put on the harness and bells
while the littlest ones rode in the improvised sleigh.
Together they galloped through the main dining room
and out into the snowy yard without their coats or gloves.
Seeing all the fun, Drífa wriggled
out of her mother's arms and onto the ground,
where she transformed into a reindeer fawn.
She squirmed free of her clothes
and trotted after her friends,
bleating laughter in her high sweet voice.
By the time it was over,
the rug rope was a lost cause,
the table and chairs had been upended,
a bucket of kindling was scattered on the hearth,
there were muddy hoofprints and bootprints all over the floor,
and somebody had lost a blue-and-yellow mitten
in a snowdrift just outside the door.
The children flopped into a giggling heap
in front of the fire and lazily threw the kindling
into it one piece at a time.
Dýrfinna stared at them
in something approaching horror,
then flung up her hands and said,
"What am I supposed to do with you little beasts?"
"Just love them," Rowen said.
"They want Drífa to feel that she belongs.
Let's not discourage that, although perhaps
next time we might aim for something a bit less messy."
The children murmured apologies for the mess.
Astrid swept the remains of her antlers
into the hearth and gathered the rest of the kindling.
Bjarni put the tablecloth in the basket
and carried it to the laundry.
Klara untangled the cloth braid and declared
that it might still be good for stuffing.
Birgitta put away the sleigh bells
while Engelbert dabbed at the mud on the floor.
Drífa had fallen asleep
on someone's abandoned sweater,
already back in her human form.
Dýrfinna sighed and went to get a mop.
She knew, and Rowen knew,
what it was like to feel alone in the world,
as if you had no place to go
or there was nobody else quite like yourself.
Rowen brought out a bucket of soapy water.
"Here, we'll help you clean the floor,"
she said to Engelbert.
If putting up with a bit of mess and mayhem
would prevent Drífa from feeling like an outcast,
then Dýrfinna would just give thanks
that her daughter had the kind of friends
who cared more about belonging than behaving.
Besides, compared to some of what Dýrfinna had seen,
any problem that could be solved with soap and water
was really no problem at all.