don’t know the difference
between a rock and
a hard place because
it’s all rocks and hard places
all sweat and moans
to no one in particular
although the spider knows
when the hand reaches up to brush
the web clear from the face
and the rats know too as
they scamper away from the footfalls
but the calf knows the touch
of fingers on its nose
then gently sucks the softness
thinking of mother so it is mother
when the spider dances.
Published in Cider Press Review, Volume 15, Issue 2.
Doris (Dee) Matthews grew up one of seven children on a small family farm in North Brookfield, Massachusetts, during the early 1960’s. Her love and respect for animals and the natural world comes through to her from her father, paternal grandmother and great-grandmother all of Abenaki Native American heritage.
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