We stood some ways back from the bleating hordes of white cloud.
Just distant enough to catch soft drift of their thick musk,
Too close for them to believe in our abandonment.
Most of them lay lazy fluff and warm,
Unashamed at the ease with which
their fat bodies hugged the supple earth.
their fat bodies hugged the supple earth.
So at ease, our own cheeks flush fevered with guilt;
We could not understand that freedom.
One girl, though, lingered
a few feet from the pack that stretched for miles.
a few feet from the pack that stretched for miles.
You knelt nose-to-nose with her
urging with your fingertips
through the course of coarse fur
to tell you what went wrong.
urging with your fingertips
through the course of coarse fur
to tell you what went wrong.
She exhausted herself at your knees,
Pangs of black and white pain
jolting from her underside.
jolting from her underside.
Why aren't the others helping her?
"Well don't just stand there,"
that overease beckoned me to berate them.
that overease beckoned me to berate them.
Not one of us could see where a thorny branch
had torn clean through the fleece and
left her there to brave the blow alone.
ABOUT: I think maybe we've all been hurt in ways no one is aware of but God.
had torn clean through the fleece and
left her there to brave the blow alone.
ABOUT: I think maybe we've all been hurt in ways no one is aware of but God.
