Trailing Sheep by the Moon

Setting fence at dusk
Because the day is short
And the soft gold sun asked me to stay
So I stayed in the fields
I trained some young dogs,
talked with a friend who walked down the way

As the sun lost its gilt
I left to move sheep
bring the ewe flock to a new graze
But night came too fast
Each day doesn’t last
The fall colors gone dark end of day

Then the moon came to see
Climbed the dais of trees
Each bright silver ewe watches and waits
I open the pen
and whistle my dog
The sheep eagerly spill through the gate

The light pewter sky
Framed with filigree trees
Moon cast shadows of shepherd and flock
The sheep graze as they go
Prodded on by my dog
Grabbing tufts of grey grass as they walk

They go through the next gate
Drop their heads to lush feed
The sheep never looked up at the sky
The air is too soft
The sky is too fine
We walk back slowly, my dog and I

©Maria Amodei