Asymmetry

Awakening to the call and response of geese
frequenting the roof peak and lawn, noting
receding snow patches in regular patterns:
lee side of trees where it lies thinnest;
trampled trails of deer and squirrels;
declivities between houses, now turned to
miniature streams as snowmelt runs down,
emptying into the shallow bog behind the
thin forest of twisted, still naked trees.
A young buck of a small herd of seven
grazing on the open grass is easily known.
He has only one antler on the left side.
Teasing myself with early spring stories
as to how he has lost only one antler, or
perhaps was born with a singular defect,
I wonder if he will succeed in jousts of
dominance or pursuit of amorous destiny.
Spying me, he shakes his lopsided head,
fades stealthily into the underbrush like a
bewitched cheshire cat of wonderland,
thus keeping secret his fame and fortune.