The Day Off

The Day Off

I took the day off and the road took me
Between the hedgerows and the fields
The clouds were swollen and they looked to be
Forming up and set to peal.

The cattle nodded as they chewed their hay
The sun was hidden, yet it shone;
I knew the coming rain would soon obscure
The moon, that hook of bone.

The squirrels scattered through the leaves
They threw their dice and won
And all the old prayers then were ceased
As on the road walked one

Who breathed my syllables and shook my head
And came about towards my home
And stopped before the dormant vines of red
And knelt in soil alone.

~ by S.K. Orr