Family Substitutes
i.
Zealous, as guardian, am I
Of Fred, (the cat),
Sandy and Gemma, (Labradors), Caprice, (the goat);
They form my small menagerie
And are my welcome company.
ii.
Fred is a tom-cat, black but white
Across his chest,
With green-gold-amber eyes and claws
To scratch the best.
He sleeps by day; at night he prowls
For rates and mice, watched by hid owls.
He flirts with farmers’ she-cats, too,
And sometimes brings
His latest conquest to my house,
Then sits and grins
With feline cool complacency,
As proof of his virility.
Often he acts just like a dog
And joins my strolls
With them when we go out on our
Evening patrols.
He eats dog-biscuits happily
As though a fine delicacy.
We have a language, Fred and I,
In which we talk
Whenever he comes in our out.
He loves to stalk
The little birds and rabbits which
Abound in every hedge and ditch.
Fred is quite independent, yet
My company
Is good enough for him to share
Such hours as he
Decides to stay at home. He knows
I think that he’s a fine fellow!.
iii.
Sandy, maleLabrador, is calm
And placid as
An ox, (almost as massive too!).
His smooth pelt has
A pale-gold texture, sleek and fine
As feather-down. Its healthy shine,
All shimmer-sheen, reflects the light.
He has a bark
Of richest baritone. His eyes
Are honey-dark
And friendly. On our rambles he
Keeps to the paths, quite close to me,
Unless some game, (rabbit or bird),
Appears nearby.
Then he will ponderously make
A half-heart try
To catch the thing although, to date,
He always seems to be too late!.
But, should a stranger venture close
To our lone house,
He roars a challenge – hackles raised –
Enough to douse
The courage of all but the most
Intrepid interloper’s boast.
iv.
Gemma, Sandy’s half-sister mate,
Is slighter built
With sharper face and longer snout,
But far more skilled
At flushing birds and rabbits from
The thickets where they have their home.
She never catches them, because
She yelps so much
In her excitement calling to
Sandy. So such
Game as she nears is warned to run
Before she gets to grips. The fun
Of rushing through the undergrowth
Between the trees
Is quite sufficient for her, though,
And seems to please
Her well enough, for no dismay
Shews when her quarry gets away!.
She loves the exercise it gives
For its own sake
And revels in her freedom’s scope.
Often she’ll take
A stick for miles in hope that I
Will throw it for her far and high
So she can scamper after it
And bring it back,
Triumphantly, to earn my praise
For that fine knack
Of making quick retrieval she
Delights to demonstrate for me.
Her coat is redder than her mate’s,
More feathery
About her hinder parts. She is
More fiery
Than Sandy in her temperament;
And rather less obedient!.
I would not have you think that she
Is bad; but when
Compared with him its rather like
Women and men;
The latter very serious,
The former more mysterious!.
v.
As for Caprice, my nanny-goat,
She is a tease!.
A shaggy, young Angora-type
Who thinks she’s
The ruler of the family
And is as wilful as can be!.
I chain her to a concrete block,
(Which she can pull
Around her meadow), just to keep
Her in. No fool,
Though, sometimes she slips free from that
And prances round our habitat,
Skipping upon the window-sills
With agile leap
And often on the roof itself
Where not too steep!.
My fences cannot keep her in
Once she has slipped her block and chain:
And then she snaffles all my blooms
And other plants.
Not even rose-thorns hinder her
Hunger’s demands;
For she will eat what she can find,
Nor does she worry if I mind!.
She is a fearless, combative
Young beast and, though
Held by her block, will bravely butt
All those who go
Too near. (Save for myself, whom she
Treats with familiarity
Because I keep her safe at night
Inside her stall
And in the Winter give hewr food
When round her all
The greenery is frosted white
And does not please her appetite).
Sometimes she comes for walks with us –
Sandy, Gemma,
Fred and I – she on a leash and
Stout dog-collar –
So we must look incongruous
To those who may catch sight of us!.
(There lives nearby a curl-horned goat
Of massive size –
A one-horn, flat-horn, krummhorn puck
With amber eyes
Of devilment and piebald coat –
Who’d like to kid her without doubt!).
vi.
These four delightful creatures are
My family,
(Now that my own are far away
Across the sea),
And help prevent me going mad
Whenever I should feel too sad.
They are the surrogates I use
As substitutes
For those I want to be with me
But whom it suits –
Or whom necessity compels –
To make their dwelling somewhere else.
These innocent companions give
Me all their love,
(As far as pets can do), and I
Admit I have
Affection for them because they
Let me enjoy their company.
For they removed much of the pain
Which, else, had been
Too overwhelming for my heart;
And their serene
Acceptance of my meagre state
Helped me to bear my lonely fate.
These simple beasts were family
When I had none,
And in their happy fellowship
I have begun
To find the confidence and hope
To realise my talents’ scope
In writing poetry each day
As was my dream
When I leftEnglandlate last year.
They have been
My solace in the amplitude
OfIreland’s rural solitude.
