Deer Meets Turtledove Poem by Liilia Talts Morrison

An errant maiden one day wandered
Where little lambs had lost their way
She wore a cape of wool and linen
Her tresses flowed like flaxen hay

A wreath of fragrant hyssop blossoms
Embraced her waist in search of love
Her tender neck with oils anointed
Would she soon find her turtledove?

She listened for the sounds of woodlands
And heard a black hawk's rustling wings
Then without warning he descended
Surrounding her with feathered rings

The night fell darkly in that forest
Its palm pressed down with granite weight
When morning dawned the ground was littered
With trampled blooms and tangled plaits

The sun was high when bushes rustled
As tiny deer came out to meet
The newest neighbor to the forest
A turtledove with wings like wheat

The moral of this yarn is simple:
A maid can search all night and day
To find a suitor kind and faithful
But only turtledoves don't stray.