WINTER IN THE BARN

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