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| Image Source: Judith Anne Finetti |
The Travelling Fence - Judith Anne Finetti
Once the meadow and hedgerows are neatly trimmed
Up sticks literally and the large flock of sheep,
Four goats and three donkeys and two sheepdogs
Plus the shepherd and his lady wife
Are on the move again to the next valley
Stakes in the ground and the fence is again
An instant stockade.
The animals settle in immediately to munch away
At the rich grass and clover and daises for the farmer
In inaccessible places for machinery to reach.
The goats particularly leave a very trim edge to the fields
As they will eat anything and without the fence would quite
Happily nibble the nearby grape vines.
The older sheepdog with the limp valiantly trying to keep up with his extended family
Three months of drought in Italy but as soon as the heavens opened days later green grass had been shooting up
And wild flowers turned the valley into a patchwork quilt of colour.
The shepherd and his lady wife sleep with their flock,
Always on the alert for sheep rustlers
Their morning coffee enriched with fresh goat`s milk.
Judith Anne Finetti
