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With the whole farm feeding slowly And nervously into his hand. Ifthe wire were cut anywhere All his blood would fall to the ground And leave him standing and staring With a face as white as a Hereford's. From years ofsurrounding grain, Cows, horses, machinery trying to turn To rust, the humming arrives each second, A sound that arranges these acres And holds them highstrung and enthralled. Because ofthe light, chilled hand On the top thread tuned to an E Like the low string ofa guitar, The dead corn is more Balanced in death than it was, The animals more aware Within the huge human embrace Held up and borne out ofsight Upon short, unbreakable poles Wherethrough the ruled land intones Like a psalm: properly, With its eyes closed, Whether on the side ofthe animals Or not, whether disappearing Right, left, through trees or down roads, Whether outside, around, or in. AtDarienBridge The sea here used to look As ifmany convicts had built it, Standing deep in their ankle chains, Ankle-deep in the water, to smite The land and break it down to salt. I was in this bog as a child At Darien Bridge / I3 7 When they were all working all day To drive the pilings down. I thought I saw the still sun Strike the side ofa hammer in flight And from it a sea bird be born To take offover the marshes. As the gray climbs the side ofmy head And cuts my brain offfrom the world, I walk and wish mainly for birds, For the one bird no one has looked for To spring again from a flash Ofmetal, perhaps from the scratched Wedding band on my ring finger. Recalling the chains oftheir feet, I stand and look out over grasses At the bridge they built, long abandoned, Breaking down into water at last, And long, like them, for freedom Or death, or to believe again That they worked on the ocean to give it The unchanging, hopeless look Out ofwhich all miracles leap. Chenille There are two facing peacocks Or a ship flapping On its own white tufted sail At roadside, near a mill; Flamingoes also are hanging By their bills on bedspreads And an occasional mallard. These you can buy anywhere. They are made by machine Helmets / I3 8 ...

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