Grass 1

My father’s thick fingers know
Hedging, ploughing, reaping,
Fencing, birthing, feeding,
Stacking, sowing, weeding,
And the soft brush
Of grass.
Cocksfoot, Meadow foxtail, Timothy,
All grown for hay.
His steady voice shows me
Broad leaves, hairy leaves,
Flower and seed;
Floating sweet grass, Yorkshire Fog grass,
Rough Meadow grass, Smooth Meadow grass,
Ryegrass, Brome, and Wild Oats
that we pulled for a penny a piece,
at Brooklands Farm,
in our 70s shorts and wellington boots,
silvered seed heads waving out of reach,
– only paid if we could show the roots

2019