Inishmór Goats

The star they made
of their faces
I captured with a Nikon

two creatures in damp pasture,
shoulder to shoulder,
just meters from the sea.

Only this, I guessed,
until at home I slipped
the strip of film

into the enlarger.
Had wire become scarce,
the price of stakes too high?

Tethered together at the neck
by the briefest reach of rope,
they'd need agree

on each bleak bite —
one head taking the other
down with it.

Copyright © 2007 Ronda Broatch All rights reserved
from Rhino
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission