My Antlers are the Biggest Liars I Know
Feb. 25th, 2007 03:23 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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animal_quillsI could have sworn I posted this here when I wrote it, but apparently not! So, here it is. It ought to have been longer, and perhaps one day I'll add more to it, but if not, oh well.
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Deer is a lot of things it's not.
Don’t think I’m falling into the trap of asserting that 'prey species' are mindless drones who simply react and who are not complex enough to be meaningful in and of themselves; I’m not. I’m very aware of the individuality and intelligence that such species display. That said, I will not ignore what is a basic truth for me: deer is all about what is around it. All animals must survive, and deer cannot simply fall back into themselves to achieve this.
Deer is about food. Fuel. Continuation. Stagnancy. Pausing.
Not many people understand what it takes to survive.
Deer is not prey. He becomes it only when things have gone wrong. All species are designed to survive; no species voluntarily becomes another’s meal. Deer’s behaviors are not about being prey – they arise because deer has what it takes to live.
When one is aware of the necessities, the mind opens up. There is nothing ordinary about a deer; everything he does challenges those who observe him well enough. It is all very well to say, “look at him, he is so vulnerable, but it is just as well – prey are here to be eaten.” Ignoring the basic mistake in comprehension of evolution, this fails on another level: deer works to fix his vulnerability.
Deer works only for rewards. Nothing is unintentional. A lot of things will fascinate him, and so he must strike a balance between this fancy and his own protection. He is vain, but only so much as it benefits him. The itch of needing to know is something he looks to fix. And while curiosity may have killed the cat, deer is very aware of the continuum he’s stepping into. Remember, though – survival is the end of all goals. He does what it takes.
He is strong-willed, but this doesn’t mean it is apparent at first glance. That is because deer is also very secretive: showing yourself in full daylight is rarely an appropriate strategy. One can only keep up full panic prance un-choreographed run speed to avoid death, and it will never last. Cover is where it ends.
Forests, swamps, murk, coldwarm, that is ideal. If it can be helped, one should never be spotted early. Besides, who doesn’t appreciate the sinking feeling when one’s hooves are merging into muddy, languid, feeding time. And really, there is plenty we’re willing to wait and respond to. We deer are fortunate to not exist within a vacuum; it would be the death of us. How unaware it would make us. That is vulnerability.
Not that it’s all slow. That’s the way it is most of the time, it’s true. But there are times when deer is active, be it that he is fleeing, or playing, or fighting. He is awake. He can respond to stimulus just as well as you can. He can smell you. He knows you’re there.
Drums. That is deer-activity. Human beings turned deer into language using drums. Rat-a-tat-tat, hooves on the ground. Meditating, within a trance, fully aware, perfectly straddled between conscious and subconscious.
He knows about humans. Let’s not give them much time. Thank you for respect, but leave the transformation to us. For a man to become a deer – this does not take much. Although most would not be capable of it. And deer will rarely become men; most stop halfway to observe the stage of perfection, and then are too entranced to continue further.
A man’s body, a stag’s head.
__
Deer is a lot of things it's not.
Don’t think I’m falling into the trap of asserting that 'prey species' are mindless drones who simply react and who are not complex enough to be meaningful in and of themselves; I’m not. I’m very aware of the individuality and intelligence that such species display. That said, I will not ignore what is a basic truth for me: deer is all about what is around it. All animals must survive, and deer cannot simply fall back into themselves to achieve this.
Deer is about food. Fuel. Continuation. Stagnancy. Pausing.
Not many people understand what it takes to survive.
Deer is not prey. He becomes it only when things have gone wrong. All species are designed to survive; no species voluntarily becomes another’s meal. Deer’s behaviors are not about being prey – they arise because deer has what it takes to live.
When one is aware of the necessities, the mind opens up. There is nothing ordinary about a deer; everything he does challenges those who observe him well enough. It is all very well to say, “look at him, he is so vulnerable, but it is just as well – prey are here to be eaten.” Ignoring the basic mistake in comprehension of evolution, this fails on another level: deer works to fix his vulnerability.
Deer works only for rewards. Nothing is unintentional. A lot of things will fascinate him, and so he must strike a balance between this fancy and his own protection. He is vain, but only so much as it benefits him. The itch of needing to know is something he looks to fix. And while curiosity may have killed the cat, deer is very aware of the continuum he’s stepping into. Remember, though – survival is the end of all goals. He does what it takes.
He is strong-willed, but this doesn’t mean it is apparent at first glance. That is because deer is also very secretive: showing yourself in full daylight is rarely an appropriate strategy. One can only keep up full panic prance un-choreographed run speed to avoid death, and it will never last. Cover is where it ends.
Forests, swamps, murk, coldwarm, that is ideal. If it can be helped, one should never be spotted early. Besides, who doesn’t appreciate the sinking feeling when one’s hooves are merging into muddy, languid, feeding time. And really, there is plenty we’re willing to wait and respond to. We deer are fortunate to not exist within a vacuum; it would be the death of us. How unaware it would make us. That is vulnerability.
Not that it’s all slow. That’s the way it is most of the time, it’s true. But there are times when deer is active, be it that he is fleeing, or playing, or fighting. He is awake. He can respond to stimulus just as well as you can. He can smell you. He knows you’re there.
Drums. That is deer-activity. Human beings turned deer into language using drums. Rat-a-tat-tat, hooves on the ground. Meditating, within a trance, fully aware, perfectly straddled between conscious and subconscious.
He knows about humans. Let’s not give them much time. Thank you for respect, but leave the transformation to us. For a man to become a deer – this does not take much. Although most would not be capable of it. And deer will rarely become men; most stop halfway to observe the stage of perfection, and then are too entranced to continue further.
A man’s body, a stag’s head.
no subject
Date: 2007-02-26 01:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-26 01:11 am (UTC)I still like this writing as much. ^^
no subject
Date: 2007-02-26 03:53 am (UTC)Either way, I like it a lot. I love your writing style... I want to steal it.
no subject
Date: 2007-02-26 05:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-26 04:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-26 08:24 am (UTC)That is beautiful!
no subject
Date: 2007-02-26 11:08 pm (UTC)Anyway. Yes. Thank you.