photoart: ralph murre
In The
Barn This Night
by
Ellen Kort
Earth
man
God
of the soil
in
the barn this night
hunched
over
on
wooden stool
wiping
your mouth
of
barn whiskey
and
sweat stroking
cow
in labor
Animal
sounds
smell
of birth
lifting
the calf
the
dead weight
cold
hide
all
bones
animal
skin calf
The
lantern
parts
darkness
as
you breathe
slowly
towards
the
house
all
the world
sleeping
and
the whiskey’s
not
strong enough
and
your bed
will
not
warm
this night
~
first published in There is Something
Ancient Here
(Woelfinger Press)
