Working Alone/A Blessing

Working alone in the evening sun
A man and two horses come
Pulling a plough on the far hillside
Till day is done
And the sun has died
And leaves are turning yellow
In my hair
And now as time passes through my hands
I know one day I’ll be that man
The horse’s eye is full of trust
And easy humour in the dust
I love the horse and I love the earth
The lonely plough is giving birth
And leaves are turning yellow
In my hair
And now I am a great big man
I work alone far from that land
The plough moves deep inside my veins
But someone else now holds the reins
The shadow steals across the hill
And falls upon the paper mill
The men inside come streaming out
The valley echoes with their shout
Echoes in the lonely bars
And by the silent reservoirs
And leaves are turning yellow
In my hair
(A Blessing)
Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota
Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass
And the eyes of those two Indian ponies
Darken with kindness
They have come gladly out of the willows
To welcome my friend and me
We step over the barbed wire into the pasture
Where they have been grazing all day, alone
They ripple tensely, they can hardly contain their happiness
That we have come
They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other
There is no loneliness like theirs
At home once more
They begin munching the young tufts of spring in the darkness
I would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms
For she has walked over to me
And nuzzled my left hand
She is black and white
Her mane falls wild on her forehead
And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear
That is delicate as the skin over a girl’s wrist
Suddenly I realize
That if I stepped out of my body I would break
Into blossom