urquhart brothers
A fight starts
in a moment
travels all around the
yard
and ruins roses
involves two or three
dogs who
scare the goldfish
deeper in the pond
a fight speaks of
heat or play
or boredom
a fight lasts an
instant or an afternoon
and always finishes
with the loser in the trough
shaking his head like an animal
(the water scatters
through the vision of
his startled sisters
suddenly blooming
at the kitchen window and
grandmother shouting
as she dries the edges of
her hands
all around her apron)
Source: Urquhart, Jane. False Shuffles. Victoria: Press Porcépic, 1982. Section entitled The Undertaker’s Bride.
Click to see more of Urquhart’s The Undertaker’s Bride poems