The scene is in the future. There are the leaders, and there are the devastated. The streets are ruled by scavengers and behind tall security gates and walls are the politicians or the rich, who rule basics that are left. A coveted patch of grass is considered an oasis. There is not much remaining vegetation, very little woods and most of it was buried long ago under pavement. A struggling couple notices two deer running from the burned and ravaged dead woods into the edge of the city, and foraging. The doe is about to give birth. It is, “The Flight Of The Burnt out Deer”. They notice a strange parallel. The affection, the love, and the struggle to survive. The human female is also with child. Babies now are rarely born alive in this world. Her husband looks to a better future, and declares, “I Need You”. In the light of a moon all four lives take refuge in the alley . The husband prays for a time of safety, shelter, heat, and security. He falls asleep. When he awakes he tells his wife, I am having, “My Reoccurring Dreams” again and they are somehow leading me. Early in the morning hours his wife goes into early labor, and as she is losing their baby, he notices the deer lying by their dead mutated fawn. He thinks about how, “They Are Like Us”. After grieving, they all move on. As they move about the city, they must be very careful. Between the security forces, psychos, and scavengers, there is a lot of propaganda posted and laying out in each main area. They are still telling everyone that everything is OK, and that the leaders know what they are doing. There is rarely a moment that sirens don't fill the air. At each news outlet people enquire, “What’s The Story”? If anything is questioned they are herded into paddy wagons and never seen again. They hang onto their tattered Bible and protect it with their lives. Months later at one of the city’s many citizen camps, the husband remembers how he met, fell in love and courted his wife at such a camp. She was a “Gypsy“. What little food they have is shared and spirited music fills the air. As they move on, they find hoof prints and follow, “Deer Trails” while thinking that an animal’s raw instincts may lead them to food or cleaner water. His wife is pregnant again. They are hoping for a miracle this time in a world that seemed, “Too Polluted To Care“. They notice old voting signs from the last attempt at some kind of an election. The voting boxes are still used. It is a hollow attempt to have everything appear correct. He recalls a time when there were choices. He reminds himself, “It’s in the Box” when people get involved, and it’s done right. Across the street his beautiful woman is raiding a dumpster. She still has the light in her eyes and the look of a child. He yells proudly across the street, “She’s My Love”! They are following the deer at a distance. They come to a place called, “The Why Bridge”. During the day it is a place where believers still pray. The faithful believe prayers will be answered there. The couple believes prayers can be answered anywhere, but pray with others at the site. At night the weak and devastated throw their lives into the polluted river below. While on the highest point of the bridge, the couple pray again to their Savior. “Without Hope” they would have no future. She is ready for childbirth again. Can anything live, when not even a blade of grass can break the pavement? It was then that the man noticed the deer. The doe was ready to give birth anytime, also. As he looked down, he saw one plant pushing it’s way up from a water pipe in the tarmac. Both humans and deer, yards apart, were experiencing a perfect, and, “Amazing Birth”! As the babies took in their first breaths, the man and the buck stood looking into each others eyes with a peaceful strength and respect. “The Ending” is positive, and renewal is lasting. Faith was their future to hold. …as it was the same for the couple…as it was the same for the deer.

THE FLIGHT OF THE BURNT OUT DEER Words and Music Copyright 2009 By NED ALLEN ROUSE There’s no place to run to It’s gone too far Lost in the fumes The pavement’s hard Everything’s rusty The transformers hum A fawn born mutated No help will come No help will come The food is all toxic The trees are all bare The city’s deserted Nobody cares When the last wood is taken There’s nowhere to go Wandering the alleys In the acid rain and the cold The acid rain and the cold Their last days are numbered Absorbing micro waves Growing welts on their bodies weakened They leave this place Litter and garbage The trash and the waste The flight of the burnt out deer They left no trace They left no trace _____________________________________________________________