protection
1 lips sneering
curling back on themselves
mean and ludicrous his steely smile
eeking soft bird sounds
cajoling a mother’s senses
to her death
through the cat door
early morn
perfectly placed amongst christmas presents
beneath the spruce
not a feather disturbed
nor drop of blood
2 feeding five greedy mouths
every day
nested on a shed beam
just inside the door
it wouldn’t be long before they’d
circle with the flock
over sheep paddocks
to join the morning cooing
he was seen before
in hindsight
checking on their growth
and when just right
took them all
at morning light
that bloody hawk
3 a golden labrador in the top paddock
biting every sheep possible
while the rifle was retrieved
they fled to the bottom flat
the shot rang through the valley
local farmers rang for news
they knew we’d been losing ewes
the young lad had been walking his lab
fronted
picked up his dog
tears rolling down his face
not realising he was standing on two legs
of our pet sheep raised by hand
and in lamb
she used to disappear and then turn up again
he said
- © Jean Bohuslav 2021
Jean Bohuslav lives on the Surf Coast of Victoria, Australia. She is interested in mindfulness and philosophy which some times influences her poems. Her work can be found in Kissing Dynamite, Mad Swirl, Poetry On The Move, Tango Australis as well as Bluepepper.
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