There is a part of me that fears the night,

Stepping through the dark wood,

Hearing the chirp of crickets and the rustling from unseen creatures.

My tired legs carry me across the earthen ground swiftly,

Too afraid to remain still amid the unknown.

The path ahead of me is dimly shrouded in Moonlight,

My great protector, my guide.

She watches over me and leads me to safety without fail each night,

And by dawn, we part ways, passing on the torch to Her brother.

But I was born in Moonlight, I am lost without Her company.

In the darkness of this evening, the Moon betrays me

Her brilliance fades into obscurity

The expansive world slips in blackness, and in it, I am alone yet surrounded

I struggle to distinguish my breath from the one of the beast I cannot see

For the first time, I stop, my feet frozen in the damp, muddy leaves

As the night around me begins to creep into my panicking mind, 

A pitiful cry rings out from the trees

Fear grips my body, yet it somehow carries me towards the woeful noise

In a clearing, I find the source, a doe, lying in agony from its wounds

I look upon the gentle soul, trapped in its suffering

The fate is unfair, and there is nothing I can do to help.

So, I sit beside the animal

And place a hand on its chest, feeling the rhythm of its terrified heart

I wait with the doe as its breath slows, and calms, until it stops 

And the Moon returns, to cast her glow upon this tragic scene.