It was my task to call the cows at milking time.
\nI\u2019d amble down the summer road,
\ntipping at grasses with an unnecessary stick.
\nOn reaching the gate, I\u2019d take a breath
\nand let my voice ring out like morning across the day.
\nI\u2019d see their heads first \u2013
\nstone stalwart rising above the curve of the tiny field –
\nthen their mighty shoulders, bony haunches,
\nudders tight and full,
\nknees striking each other like flint,
\ntheir dark eyes large on mine. <\/p>\n
We\u2019d walk the road together to the farm;
\none small girl
\nstriding before a cluster of elderly hungry cows;
\nthe knowledge of warm, spiced meal in their nostrils
\ndriving them up and on.
\nFlighty girls \u2013 regardless of their age \u2013
\nswinging their heavy heads, duncing one another,
\nlike schoolgirls aiming to be first.
\nLater I\u2019d walk them back;
\nthey\u2019d be skittish now – well fed and less awkward in their step –
\ntheir long heads raised to the scent of grass,
\npushing to get past me through the gate and graze. <\/p>\n
One quiet night in October when the years had fallen away,
\nthe farm became mine alone.
\nArriving home that night, and sad,
\nI stood a moment in the falling dusk,
\nand turned to see a heifer, richly red,
\nwalk silently towards me from the mist,
\nher dark eyes large on mine.
\nShe was not skittish as a lost or wandering animal would often be
\nbut stood patiently beyond my car, observant and at ease.
\nWe stood there in a silence that was quieter than the mist allowed
\nacknowledging this for what it was.
\nI turned my head a moment
\nand when I looked up, she was gone. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It was my task to call the cows at milking time. I\u2019d amble down the summer road, tipping at grasses with an unnecessary stick. On reaching the gate, I\u2019d take a breath and let my voice ring out like morning across the day. I\u2019d see…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,1136,441,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marathon-poem","category-official-marathon-prompts","category-poetry-prompt-responses","category-poetry-prompts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47651"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47651\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47667,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47651\/revisions\/47667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}