Haying in North Austin County
by Kenneth Chafin
Dr. Kenneth Chafin is alive and well having recently moved to Houston. Before retirement he had taught evangelism and preaching at Southwestern and then at Southern Baptist seminaries. He has been pastor of South Main Baptist Church in Houston and of Walnut Street Baptist Church in Louisville.
The grasses in the meadow
were thigh-high-blue stem,
bermuda, and bahai.
Here and there black-eyed susans
tip-toed to see the sky
The mowers came
when the dew was gone.
The hum of the blades
laid the grass down
like tired children
napping on the ground.
The noon day sun
sealed the sweet juices
for winter`s chewing
The rake`s fingers,
like the teeth of a comb, arranged the
grasses so the warm breezes
could finish the curing.
At last light, one surviving
black-eyed susan waved
in the evening breeze,
meadow larks gleaned,
random seeds, a lone hoot owl
watched for mice mending
their nests, and great round
bales of hay lay on the earth
like golden buffalo resting
from a long journey.
In the quiet of the night
as I pictured the nakedness
of the pasture, I could almost
hear the plants making plans
to send up green shoots
as a witness to new life.
I prayed for such hope..
