OUR DAN
I imagine him out in the pasture blowing snow
To make a space for four shelter goats
And one wool coated sheep to move and browse
Outside their shed and for impatient hens,
Too long cooped in, to strut and hunt and peck.
His Kathy may be knitting that sheep’s wool
Or weaving a shawl on one of her many looms.
And when the spring produces brightly green
Asparagus shoots on all his roadside banks
Dan will be canning them for winter soups.
He must have inherited Grandma Lillie’s genes.
They have no use for lawns. Flowering shrubs,
Rock gardens, raised beds and berry bushes
Fill up their yard. They gather eggs. Sometimes
An aging rooster transforms into a stew.
This distinguished Cisco software engineer
Has retired early to learn to play guitar
And sing his songs at friendly open mics.
When he was young Dan had an attic room
In our three-story, part-Victorian home,
And in the space next to his bedroom he hosted
Cages and cages of guinea pigs, gerbils and hamsters.
He is true to his Tappan family Yorkshire heritage
As shepherds and farmers, good stewards of the planet.
Leave a Reply