Redressing the balance

Now that the fawns have grown a bit, 

Their mother invites them to share her corn, 

Keeping watch, all the while, to be sure 

No interlopers interfere. She times her visits 

 So the males, the bucks who push and shove 

All smaller deer away so they can feast, 

Are dozing elsewhere, unaware; 

I aid her efforts — mama to mama — 

By refusing to put out feed 

 When the boys are around; 

They retaliate by eating plants and trees 

The nursery owners swore to me 

 Were absolutely deer proof. 

All life, it seems, is a balancing act, 

And our efforts to redress the balance 

Often — though not inevitably— backfire…