Deer and Starlight
at fifteen you first read a poem about Matthew Shepard
young man brutalised by young men
for the crime of being openly gay
left for dead tied to a fence
on a frigid winter night.
time and space lay vast and unyielding between you
yet a fine thread of commonality
connected you to him.
it could have been him
it could have been you
violence knows no borders.
the poem imagined a deer
keeping him company in the night
and starlight reflected on his tears
the image still haunts you, now, eons later
you labour to hold on to this mirage
if only to convince yourself – as all do in grief –
he was not alone at the end.
Blue Mountains, Australia
Shirin Abedinirad, Evocation, 2013. Land art, Central Desert, Iran. Using mirrored circles partially buried in sand, the work conjures the illusion of water in the desert, reflecting the sky across the dunes and transforming absence into mirage, longing, and wonder. Artwork courtesy of featured artist Shirin Abedinirad.
