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This writing was accepted for publication in the 108 page perfect-bound ISSN# / ISBN# issue/book “Tracks” Down in the Dirt, v199 (the 9/22 Issue) Order the paperback book:

Order this writing that appears in the one-of-a-kind anthology The Paths Less Traveled the Down in the Dirt September-December 2022 issues collection book		get the 422 page September-December 2022 Down in the Dirt 6" x 9" ISBN# perfect-bound paperback book:

Tracks

John Kaprielian

Deer tracks criss-cross my yard
embossing the newly-fallen snow
invisible, these phantom deer
in twenty years I’ve never seen
one standing on my lawn and yet
their prints are everywhere

The dog, vexed at their invisibility
shoves his nose deep into each hoof-hole
inhaling their scent and growing
agitated by their apparent absence

Deer tracks criss-cross my yard
memories that have faded but left
their traces across my life
sometimes their scents will raise
the hairs on the scruff of my neck
and all I can manage is a mournful growl.

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