Monday, October 23, 2017

Henny is Smart

Two Poems by Sasha Thurmond

One

Soft breeze wafts in summer dog days
Glancing out kitchen window I see 
Henny scratching  outside of her cage
Lance inside watching Henny his tart
Lucky Henny finds chicken buffet
Lance wondering how she escaped.
Scratch scratch... Henny is smart.
Crowing loudly Lance wants out too
Me content to watch through the pane
Scratch scratch... Henny is smart.
Heavy alert, here comes my dog Tux
I race outside yanking truck door ajar.
Tux wanting a ride more than a treat,
He vaults inside and I slam the door shut. 
Lance crowing loudly, still ready for war.
Henny franticlly scrambling about 
Me using bare hands to guide her inside
Lance held his point till she was back at his side. 
Me securing gate to their lovely abode,
Scratch scratch...smart Henny was home.


Two

Henny is smart....scratch scratch...
Lancelot and Henny were as happy a couple
as couples can be....but I like more eggs
which two hens can lay
So I got Solo from my neighbor's huge lot
Solo was sweet, and tan mottled feathers 
set her apart.....but Henny is smart...
scratch scratch
Out of the blue, things popped in my thoughts
even again, past ones that flopped
Bent on success to turn this around, 
I left the gate open, just slightly ajar
Henny and Solo clucked back and forth
finally Solo edged her way out
Henny is smart...scratch scratch...
once things seemed safe, Henny walked out
Lance wouldn't join them, remembering well a previous jaunt
When I had two dogs on leashes I held,
I let all my chickens free to explore out of their digs.
soon I was dragging behind my strong team,
released them both when my face hit the dirt 
Chickens scattered every which way
Lance was mangled and down for the count
grabbing his legs, I placed him back in his cage
where he was dead, but safely away .
Five minutes later, Lance came back from the dead...even I was happy he did.

 This time I kept my distance and watched the hens feast,
after a spell, I herded them back toward their cage.
Henny was smart...scratch scratch. Soon she joined Lance
safely back inside .Solo was scared flapping wildly while running away
Lance got brave flying out to save her from me.
I scooped her up after a chase, me after her, and Lance after me
next he lanced me with both of his spurs
but I managed to grab Solo during our flight
I sprinted away clutching my prize, but suddenly she wet me
right on my shirt, I lay her down gently back in the cage
but something was wrong...she was motionless and gone.
I pivoted and scrambled out of the cage
just in time to elude Lance's rage.
Rebuking myself I locked the door shut

again I had two, and Henny is smart...scratch scratch.

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Sasha Thurmond is a graduate of the Cornell University MFA program where she majored in printmaking. She lives on a farm in South Carolina with her horse and other animals, and sometimes finds time to make art or write poems or stories.

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