A Saga in Six Days of Life When You Live on a Farm: Featuring Boo Radley and the Unexpected, Day 2

Day 2:

that one’ll make a lovely black and white

leather purse, I thought

of the bull grazing inches from my

bedroom window at midnight

on the Funny Farm

when our neighbor’s cows got loose

then I felt guilty

for thinking such a thought

next morning, my husband

called Wayne

turns out

another bull had gotten

into Wayne’s pasture

and their fighting

brought down the whole backside

of the fence bordering our farms

his entire herd was wandering

in the morning, cow poop

was everywhere

it’s just fertilizer

my husband reasoned

pointing to a

rounded one

the size of a dinner plate

that one’ll make a perfect

cow patty

Here are the two bulls ~ there were 8-10 cows in our front yard that night!

A Saga in Six Days of Life When You Live on a Farm: Featuring Boo Radley and the Unexpected, Day 1

Photo by Kristin Vogt on Pexels.com

Day 1:

around midnight

over the sound machine

something woke me

I heard it ~

the bumping

at first

I thought it was

in the attic

(a squirrel? raccoon?)

something bigger than

the occasional field mouse

so common on our farm

but then

it was at my

head, behind the wall

my husband

heard it too

sprang into action

flipped the switch

floodlights revealing

a herd of cows

grazing in the grass

inches from our windows

two bulls

one black and white

one milk and dark chocolate

matching my leather purse

from White Oak Pastures

in South Georgia

my husband gave me last Christmas

I’d heard closer than usual mooing

from Wayne and Janice’s field

right at the fence line

behind our barn

earlier in the day

It’s okay, I told him~

probably Wayne’s cows

we’ll call in the morning

right now it’s a win-win

they’re cutting the grass

their midnight snack

we settled back in

mended our broken sleep

Special thanks to Two Writing Teachers at Slice of Life

Decisions

Photo by HARUN BENLu0130 on Pexels.com

we looked

you drove

I rode

we talked

we offered

they rejected

we walked

and just like that:

decisions are made

On Hearing the News

Photo by Magda Ehlers on Pexels.com

one of my adult daughters

still calls novels

chapter books ~

on hearing

our family news

she texted:

there I was

listening to my own

chapter book

in my own

little world

of someone else’s

little did I know

there was another

story unfolding

in my own….

I smiled and replied

this could be the start

of a new chapter…….

Purple Foxglove Forgiveness Haiku

Photo by Jeffry Surianto on Pexels.com

am I naive to

believe that purple foxgloves

bloom in forgiveness?

that what was destroyed

smiles Heaven’s understanding

and blesses again?

or am I just a

poet choosing to believe

signs hold messages?

Feeding Turtles Marshmallows

Photo by ub300uc815 uae40 on Pexels.com

I was mad since you

were late so I fed turtles

all your marshmallows

no roasting for you

our discussion was our campfire

spark, flame, sizzle, blaze

they smiled and thanked me

reminded me to tell you

to keep slowing down.

Invitation

Photo by Natasha Fernandez on Pexels.com

Invitation

I was once

invited to a

wedding

but I saw

the truth

of that

invitation

and

declined

without hesitation

without gift

without regret

without excuse

Reduced Speed Ahead

Photo by Allen Beilschmidt sr. on Pexels.com

Reduced Speed Ahead

crave different days

not working deadline-driven

not governed by clocks

seems all or nothing

drowning in a swift riptide

too tired to love life

sacrificing hearts

of days just to earn a wage

what’s a better way?

What Chickens and Pigs Teach

Photo by Sam Mueller on Pexels.com

we could take lessons

from chickens in a dust bath

shaking it all off

instead dwell in mud

wallowing unforgiveness

pig kin bickering

get out of the mire

unstuck from the yucky muck

before it’s too late!

*inspired by a recent sermon heard on YouTube

The Main Character

Photo by Monica Silvestre on Pexels.com

The Main Character

he seeks center stage

he knows his lines, his music

his orchestration

but music changes

suddenly the stage lights dim

spotlights shift elsewhere