It's Still Life

5. When He Sees Her

Her donkey shifts its weight, and stares.
A man. Lean and tall. Long limbs. A face
with lines as deep as a flash flood’s gulley.
The man studies the woman milking his goat.

She’s lean and tall. Long limbs. A face that
he can’t read. She rises from her haunches,
and licks the last trace of milk from her hand.
She doesn’t speak, expects him to speak first.

The black goat nuzzles her hand, and bleats out
noisy conversation on behalf of them both.
She strokes its rough black coat, and whispers
in its ear, Is he a kind man to you, or not?

He centres her stillness within him, wonders,
Would this woman crowd my mind too much.

154-words. #5 (draft) of The Goatherd. Some artwork is created using Midjourney AI, and is identified as such in the ALT text or captioned. Imagery and poems ©Misky 2023.