Spring Sagebrush Steppe—ensemble (Sulphur Lupine & Desert Paintbrush) . . .
On the road in the American Northwest.
[ click photo for next . . . ]
Spring Sagebrush Steppe—ensemble (Sulphur Lupine & Desert Paintbrush) . . .
On the road in the American Northwest.
[ click photo for next . . . ]
BARN WORK
A farmer’s life is measured
by the pitchforks full,
of hay, of manure,
of the mountain
of work
which is each day
left undone.
an zwei
Mattli Peter gewidmet
Vater und Sohn
in memorium
(1)
Working in the barn all day,
moving manure from here
to there.
Evening, and the low door opens
all by itself. Walking out the door,
I bump my head against the stars.
(2)
Life inside the stomach of a cow!
Low ceiling, pigshit smells,
moving manure from here to
there.
Late summer hay is mid-winter joy.
The goat’s eyes are filled with delicate
bells pouring over into the sweetness
of milk. A last drop and the bucket is full,
the gentle waves of a warm evening wind.
(3)
The gift of labor.
Working together on a neighbor’s
farm, moving manure from here
to there.
An old wheelbarrow,
the wooden handle’s worn thin
as a bone—on one side only—the
right side.
They say his older brother
died young.
(URNERLAND, The Alps,
from ON PATHS)
All Photographs & texts by Cliff Crego © 2011 picture-poems.com
(created: VI.1.2008)
