The white calf sleep*

some rabbit’s iambic leg
back bent in its tight articulation
keeps hanging few inches on the jamb,
right on the doorstep and a crown of seeds
is there, the spade thrust deep into frozen mud;
the roods collect the moan of prayers,
guttural lamentation on the water ponds,
white relics of boughs, plumes of birds

a white calf uproots the leaves of grass
with sharp strokes of tongue, moistens
the cold panes before its snout, hides
milky bones and sleeps in bare straw

 

* First published in Raum, vol.1 issue 4, Glasgow, 2017.