Tending

The antlers regrow in the spring.

The velvet phase lasts six weeks. The recent growth emerges from the pedicles as soft, furred columns, blood-rich, covered in skin so thin the capillary network pulses beneath it, a branching map of red and blue that radiates warmth like a halo. I am aware of the theological implications of comparing any part of her to a halo, and I am noting them and I am continuing.

The velvet antlers are sensitive in the way the inside of a wrist is sensitive: to temperature, to pressure, to the brush of a fingertip. I discovered this while tending them.