The Farrier Hears the Call of the Sea

The Farrier Hears the Call of the Sea

2

Shadows of Italy, horses, a man,

the barn strewn with tools, curry brush and hay---

the open door to the sea. The blue bay

where gulls scud, home to the great pelican;

one feels the heartbeat of whales in this dark

place. The farrier lifts his heavy head

at the whisper of a sound. Now the dead

rise as white clouds, sailing like Noah's ark.

Following the instinct to work alone,

sweat forming on his face and upper brow,

the shadows hide what is now almost gone.

It is the last act in a lantern show;

two horses stamp by the unswept hay stalls---

the day flushes to crimson as the night falls.

Italian sonnet by,

Calvin Green