ANGELICA'S EYES

Photo by S. Auberle

ANGELICA'S EYES

She was only a sheep

who had just given birth.

Twin lambs nestled

in the straw beside her.

Outside the shed

snow beat on old wood.

We walked softly,

whispered to her,

but Angelica just stood there,

all the anxieties

of the world in her eyes.

I lost myself in them,

in the plea not to harm these new lives.

Yet nothing reassured her.

Sheep have no defenses,

they are vulnerable prey.

They know this, and do not

carry their burden lightly.

In Angelica's eyes I saw myself,

felt that tense fear

of a sometimes-savage world.

The lambs didn't know yet

how vulnerable they are...

- mimi