Antlers

By Leila Gherabli

Antlers’ coming round again,
He’s got no hopes, he’s got no friends
He might come knocking on your door
You pretended not to hear before

Antlers’ coming round again
He’s got no hopes, he’s got no friends
He’s itching for your deep dark fears
To drown the bristling in his ears

When he was just a suckling fawn
He asked for songs to keep him warm
But look how poor old Antlers’  grown 
Since you pretended you weren’t home

Now he only feeds on fear
Watch the sap drip from his ears
It wasn’t meant to be a chore
And now you have to bolt your door 

Look at Antlers, hyde and bone,
He knows you’re creeping ‘round your home
Antlers will not be ignored
See the scratches on your floor

Trembling wet with crackling eyes
He took you soaring through the skies 
Now he’s nothing like a friend 
But he’ll keep knocking ‘til the end

Leila Gherabli Biography
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Leila Gherabli is an Irish-Algerian writer and community mental-health worker. Her poetry has appeared in Antlers Zine, An Bhroinn Gallery,  and was long-listed for The Heroines Anthology. She directed music video Incompatibilidad Emocional for Spanish artist Brasov and recently  directed community mental health documentary “Hope is the Thing with Feathers” (awaiting distribution). Leila’s work is inspired by the depth and complexity of human emotion and often explores this theme through nature, folklore and the supernatur