The Stag

Crowned keeper of the quiet,

you stand where forest deepens,

antlers branched like seasons,

body held in stillness.

You are neither prey nor ruler,

but a presence,

the one who endures

by remaining whole.

Your pause is not fear,

but restraint,

reminding us that strength

does not always announce itself.

Stag, you are not afraid of vulnerability.

You carry what must be shed,

you bear the weight of growth,

you lose and grow again,

and still you walk forward,

still you stand.

In your bearing,

there is power without aggression.

In your shedding,

there is the promise

that renewal requires release,

that survival is not only persistence,

but the courage

to let go.