Echo Farm
At the stove braising ribs stands a mother.
Evening light straddles the barn.
Across grazed fields the girl rides her pony
choosing to wait under the trees
for her trusted confidant, the moon.
Around her play the elementals.
They come in different shapes, these elementals
imperceptible to the mother
who denies her connection to the moon
and seldom ventures into the barn
or wanders out under the trees
where stands the trusty little pony.
This little dappled grey pony
is envoy to the elementals
who live among the trees
unacknowledged by the mother.
A sanctuary masquerading as a barn
waits ready under the cold moon.
In all her rich fullness the moon,
protector to the child and pony,
conducts lessons in the barn
under the gaze of the elementals
standing between child and mother
guarded all around by trees.
Deep rooted and wise, the trees
oak, pine, hemlock, apple, serve the moon.
Unnoticed, they minister to the mother
who allows the child to have the pony
prearranged by the elementals
under the cover of the barn.
The old stone and timbered barn
still stands among the trees
tended by the elementals
and the waning, worm moon.
Long gone is the pony
and the fretful, absent mother.
The moon reflects the memory of the pony.
The absolved mother sleeps under the trees
while the elementals watch over the barn.