Heid E. Erdrich shows us the inner life of a devoted husband and father.
—
Shepherd
Given over to love,
he scrapes the plates,
lets fall debris of meals,
crumb shatter, wrack of grains,
slag of some greasy sustenance,
picks it all for the sake
of the stainless tall tub
of the gleaming new dishwasher.
Given over to love long ago, when his own
exasperated oath bounced off
the quaint speckled enamel
of the old double sink —
the gate to his herder’s instinct so
keen on constant strays, on lookout
for the lost ewes of cups, the lambs
of ramekins, the damn ram of frying pan.
He swore. His vow: do this always and well.
He fell in love then, he held the line—
against a wash of millions. He’d do them.
Day by day, he would husband the flock.
***
Interested in submitting poetry to The Good Men Project? Check out our guidelines.
Like The Good Men Project on Facebook
Photo by P M M /Flickr
Thanks, Heid!!