by Laura Rodley
A back is worth a million dollars;
is a herd worth a back,
milking for 60 years,
holding the hand of time?
Who drinks this cup of milk,
who bakes bread with its moisture?
All of you, all of you.
Soon the price will be too
high to afford, one back
two backs, the herd
salvaged, but not the backs,
the herd sold, the hand
of time let go.
Laura Rodley’s chapbook Your Left Front Wheel is Coming Loose has been nominated for a PEN New England L.L. Winship Award and a Mass Book Award.
_____________________________________________________
