Thirteen Hay Bales
An afternoon's work by one man,
his tractor and Jack Russell.
Driving widdershins, he circles
and bales, makes thirteen monuments.
The dog beside him pricks its ears
as martins twitter overhead
rolling white bellies
round bales still tinged with green
like frozen waves. They appear seamless,
unbound, fray into inner whorls
on each coiled edge, wobbly stars
or maps of Africa.
A rabbit streaks from the field
into our garden, vanishes
like a mirage. The tractor blurts
into the distance. Drowsy scents waft
from earth's new shapes. They might have stood
a thousand summers, sentinels awaiting dark,
megaliths dreaming through centuries.
Their solid presence reassures. At dusk
they slumber, calm, though bats swoop by
like mad umbrellas.
his tractor and Jack Russell.
Driving widdershins, he circles
and bales, makes thirteen monuments.
The dog beside him pricks its ears
as martins twitter overhead
rolling white bellies
round bales still tinged with green
like frozen waves. They appear seamless,
unbound, fray into inner whorls
on each coiled edge, wobbly stars
or maps of Africa.
A rabbit streaks from the field
into our garden, vanishes
like a mirage. The tractor blurts
into the distance. Drowsy scents waft
from earth's new shapes. They might have stood
a thousand summers, sentinels awaiting dark,
megaliths dreaming through centuries.
Their solid presence reassures. At dusk
they slumber, calm, though bats swoop by
like mad umbrellas.
Page(s) 7
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- Rialto, The
- Second Aeon
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- Shearsman
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