I wonder if there's ever a whimper.

In recent weeks, I’ve watched a mother deer and her fawn cross the road while I was biking. That always made my day. The mother proceeded ahead. Then waited for the fawn to cross. Then they scampered off into the woods. For a delightful romp. Together. Yesterday, I cried. The fawn was lying dead. In the roadside ditch. Apparently, it had been hit by a car. I grieved. And I wondered what the mother thought. If anything. Did she try to awaken her fawn? Or did she know the meaning of death? Maybe the mother has no more memory of what happened. And is enjoying life. In the woods. Without her fawn. Maybe until the hunting season. Life comes. And goes. And I wonder if there’s ever a whimper. In the deer’s world. –Jim Broede