antlers for almost once dead boys 

with a pocketknife we planted seeds
in our skulls. blood throbbing all night long.
on the trail the day before, we watched a buck 
chasing a comet. he looked over his shoulder
to tell us "feed the sun." so we did. we baked all day 
& all night. offering loaf after loaf of bread. 
sun refused to eat until he saw deer had come too. 
an antler is a branch from one day into the next. 
one body to the dirt to the roots. an antler is a courier. 
it took weeks but the seeds did take. in the mirror, now,
an oak tree sprout grows from my skull. soon, i will have antlers. 
planets will nest here. i ask them to ward off my hunger.