From fawn to shore

I saw a fawn at the edge of the ocean,
full of light, drenched in the sun’s brightness—
the two of them shining in their own way.
Somehow, I was brave enough to feel the sun kiss my skin
as I moved forward.
I was startled to see a creature of the forest
standing so close to the sea.
They were never meant to meet.
But neither were we.
And somehow, that thought relieved me.
What if this was how it was supposed to be?
The ocean forgiving its water to the sun.
Fire itself meeting the tide.
A fawn leaving the forest
to wander somewhere as untamed as the sea.
So I kept walking.
Step after step,
the day dissolved into night.
The moon rose above me,
and the beach was covered in moonlight—
so much of it that there seemed to be more silver than sand.
And then I saw a deer.
An old one.
Lying beside the ocean,
lifeless.
As though the sea had taken its breath away
with its beauty
and left the creature there, empty of everything but silence.
I stood there wondering
how something could die
in a place it was never supposed to belong.
And then I understood:
A deer on the shore is proof
that not every soul dies
where it was meant to live.
Nubisha Rabya Topote, a poet, is currently working on her debut poetry collection. Find her at @nubishawrites.

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