Forests glow
hues of madder red and amber
leaf fall, deepening the floor.
A ferment of chestnuts, wild cherry
crimson pillows that hang and drop
from a burnished Spindle bush.
Vermillion weave of trees
red hinds in-step silently
rufous coats polished tan.
Stock still under scarlet sycamore
a flinching, quivering vigilance
whites of eye, uneasy ears
noses pressed to the scent
of stag.
September silence breaks; bellows of buck
piped, hot and smoky from wrathful guts
in the now damp air of autumn.
Horned crowns tilt and joust
bare branch, tossing clouds
of crimson and claret.
Readied now for the red rage rut
bloodshot eyed and face to face
a stamping, charging tournament
bone on bone, they slash and cut
crashing , clashing heaving breath
sanguine charges, sometimes death
For my MTB prompt: “The Colour Motif and Amy Lowell’s Imagism” we are focusing in on a colour of our choice. Here the motif is red which in turn symbolises the wrathful energy of the rut and runs through the theme of autumn. The poetry style tries to emulate the principles of Imagist poetry as outlined by Lowell.
PoetryPix 
The use of colour is your poem is superb, Laura, and the way you painted the forest on fire! The red deer is the jewel in the crown.
thank you Kim – it was a good discipline to try and keep the language red but not flowery
I really love it!
❤
Wow… what a vivid scene of those deer and stags with the fight and tension and anticipation of the doe… love all the different red hues in this poem that bring out the blood and even death
I’m glad you could feel the atmosphere here Bjorn – thank you
Nice one
much♡love
So vivid–both movement and color. (K)
thank you Kerfe for seeing both
This made me think of the medieval – all the reds and brown in nature and finding them on an adventure through the wilderness – Jae
many thanks Jae – the stag conjures that eternal ideal of heraldry
a tale as old as time. mad love!
thank you – love can be so mad sometimes!
I love the red hinds, in-stepping..and the profusion of reds in both color and mood.
I may have overdone the reds a little but glad you picked that line
A really great use of the color red. The deer add such a great color to the falling leaves of Fall!
having witnessed the rut, it is an image forever autumn
How wonderful. Writing from experience always resonates.
so true Dwight else it sounds unreal, fantastical
:>)
This is a dramatic and beautiful description of this time of year.
thank you Roberta
My pleasure
I enjoyed the vivid detail. It drew me into the scene. Especially, “uneasy ears” and “wrathful guts”.
thank you Maria and for picking those lines especially
The scene comes alive in your words, Laura! I enjoyed “seeing” it all, easily, with the rich tones and mood you evoked in your poem–it’s as if I had a front-row seat for the joust!
many thanks Jennifer for taking a front row seat
The tension builds from Autumnal reds to the red rage of the rut – the red motif woven to perfect effect, Laura…
thank you Andrew – I may have moved imagist too far into scenic but followed the deer 😉
Most of the responses have taken a singular hue or contrasting ones, but yours is a rich woven dapple of browns and reds and umbers, autumns all in which the red deer slides like faintly visible water. Lovely.
your ‘faintly visible water’ describes so well the silent hinds so thank you Brendan and yes I did weave the dapples of red as a kind of medieval tapestry and hope/think I stopped just this side of purple prose!
Lovely. Kim’s comment and your reply are enriching
many thanks John – heartening words
I believe you’ve chosen the ideal color for the new season. The poem is beautifully symbolic of this. I enjoyed reading every line. Thanks, Laura. Blessings
Bless you Selma
Your words paint a beautiful picture Laura🩷
many thanks
This is the problem with reading late; what I want to say has already been said and in a much better way. You wove a rich tapestry of reds and browns so theatrically!
As always, in awe, Laura. ❤️
i know just what you mean – one way round the repetition dilemma is to reply with your comment to one that accords with similar thoughts
anyway I thank you for still taking time to leave your kind and encouraging words
Yes, that’s a good suggestion.
You are very welcome.
“horned crowns tilt and joust” such a beautiful vivid image (and metaphor)
thank you Lisa – such majesty in these ‘tournaments’
You are welcome.