WINTER IN THE BARN
Steam rises off the backs of big horses
The old Holstein in the second stall
shifts her weight from side to side
matching the rhythm of the milking
and flicks her tail at memories
of summer flies
Across the width of the barn
I stand with mouth open
in my biggest five year old oval
catching most of the milk
squirted dead eye straight
by the laughing hired man
In the tack room
kittens wait by a tin plate
to put their morning moustache on
In my memory it is always warm in the barn