Flock
The sun shines over the long
peninsula when the shepherd gets up
to lead his flock to the sunlit mountain
slope, his dog, a loyal worker runs after
all the half-asleep sheep, especially the
ones that stray away from the rest and
which he guides back to the flock and
to the watering well where the old shepherd,
using a bucket, pulls water and pours
into the watering wood canal
where he guides his sheep to take
their fair share while birds around sing
their morning arias and the old man
feels he too can sing one of the local
four liners thanking the ineffable for
granting him another healthy day; tears
flow down his cheeks when he thinks
that one day he too will be done in
the arms of joyous Thanatos, time will
surely come when the old shepherd
will be obsolete since sheep and other
animals are raised in stables these days
sheep fed with chemicals enough
to make sure they grow fast
to make sure they are slaughtered
to make sure tonnes of meat is
produced for the meat-eating
consumers who live in the big cities
and in every corner of the globe.
Manolis Aligizakis 