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Fairness
Even a furrowed look is not enough
It’s unfair how happy my kids are most days,
unlimited laughs at the sink, foamy mouths,
rainbow toothbrushes and grunting ages.
Unbridled as wild horses let loose
on a fenceless field of apple trees
for wide-open roam. They spur and stomp
their unbound feet from the back seat.
Even a furrowed look is not enough
to bring them down. They’re rude at dinner
but never notice, none better
than silverware set to the wrong side.
The knife facing out, cutting sensibilities
just by being there. I could pick it up,
pry off their horseshoes, but as luck would have
it, rain would fall on that day, a sagging ground
to cushion their footfalls, a place
to leave soft prints to track their journey
through the field and into the woods.
Would I chop down all those trees? Never,
but I do consider it. Every time they break
a bridle, I consider it — again and again.
© Trapper Markelz 2021
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