You said they loved you
because you fed them,
our mare and those Rhode Island Reds
how they nodded
and clucked—— when you came
down to the board barn
———chanting their names
The birds got oyster mash
———and cracked corn,
the horses were given
fresh hay, a scoop of grain
mixed with molasses
———once a day
Our dogs whined and so did we
———everyone hungry
To hear you call us good
and girl, to be your
prize—
that is why
We did our chores
and flocked around those legs
of yours,
Veins knobby as roots
horseshoe——shapes in a river
meandering over the calves
You standing there
swatting at us like
flies.
Meghan Finn is a writer based in Boston. She has held residencies at the Banff Centre, Vermont Studio Center, and Spring Creek Project and is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School.
