It's Still Life

I. The Goatherd (Draft)

He has a gathering of coins in one pocket,
courage in the other, a cat that chases rats,
and he lives with his goats in a metal hut.

His wife looks older than her age. They talk
about a poor harvest, and eat fried peanuts.
He wonders who was first to fry a peanut.

She washes her hands, and pours warm broth
from an iron pot into two bowls with bread.
Meals are rarely a pleasure; the fire smokes.

He rides a bicycle to visit the miracle man,
to buy himself medicine against wildfire
and witches and bearded men with guns.

Some aid agency men gave him the bicycle,
gave him lots of advice, and then they left.

The beginning of a possible series. Some artwork is created using Midjourney AI, and is identified as such in the ALT text or captioned. Imagery and poems ©Misky 2023.