A poem written to commemorate a helluva fight I had during an SCA tourney
(The Wild Hunt in Shire Shattentor, Midrealm) many years ago.

Sir Angus Ulrich, KSCA - In memory.
We were not friends, but were comrades for a time.

Stag and Hound - 11 November 1990 CE

Proudly trotting through the wood
Branchlike horns on shaggy brow
Rippling muscle, sleek of coat
A woodland monarch, I'll avow

Bell flared nostrils sniff the breeze
Bright, brown eyes behold the sky
Rustling leaves carry no hint
Of danger, stalking, closely by

Nose hounds charge, ahead, behind
Yelp to call the hunters hence
The Stag rears from side to side
Snarling dogs form a living fence

The hunters with spears so sharp
The tooth hounds with jaws so strong
Come arunning, seeking prey
The final kill should not take long

With Horn and Hoof, and quick leap
The Stag does mighty battle
Til all hunters, dog and man
Give up their final death rattle

Upon this scene of carnage
Comes an old, grey hunting Hound
See's Nature's Child standing
Proud upon dark and bloody ground

The Stag breathes in heaving gasps
The old Hound limping onward
He sights the Stag, stops to sit
In easy rest, upon greensward

Stag and Hound exchange a Look
They move towards the center
Out of Time and into Doom
An ancient battle They enter

Horn and Tooth do ring and clash
As feeding rooks pause to look
Stag and Hound they struggle close
The Ancient Dance within Death's book

Fur and Blood fly freely now
Nature's Ancient Weapons pierce
A soft breeze blows, gently, warm
As Stag and Hound give battle fierce

The Hound bites deep, Life flows out
The Stag draws on final strength
His Antlers flash, red and white
Rosy blossoms straddle Their length

The rooks screech loud, fly away
Stag and Hound lie, in close embrace
Their final breath, mingles, stops
Delicate pattern, blood does trace

Long time passes, moonlit night
Two shadows struggle ever
Eternal strife, Stag and Hound
Fight until the End of Never
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