A poem I won’t forget; it slays my heart every time I read it. The poet is Laura Gilpin and the poem is The Two-Headed Calf.
I’m sure growing up on a farm adds to my love of this poem because I see the pasture, the stars, the moon, the orchard, and feel the wind in the grasses. I see in my heart the cow and her calf. I feel their body heat, hear their breathing, and smell their cowness. I hear the sounds of the night; for the night is not silent.
The Two-Headed Calf by Laura Gilpin
Tomorrow, when the farm boys find this
freak of nature, they will wrap his body
in newspaper and carry him to the museum.
But tonight he is alive and in the north
field with his mother. It is a perfect
summer evening: the moon rising over
the orchard; the wind in the grasses.
And as he stares into the sky,
there are twice as many stars as usual.
Photo by Lawrence at Unsplash
