Vox Populi
A curated webspace for Poetry, Politics, and Nature with over 20,000 daily subscribers and over 8,000 archived posts.
Ron Koertge: An Old Farmer
still has a few cows and goats he helped into this world, then fed with a bottle. They follow him everywhere, eyes rolled up in adoration. When the time comes, he sells them for meat. Pays some bills. Buys a few more cows and goats. He’s on his own since Mattie died and the boys moved away. He goes to church for something to do. He hopes to see his family in Heaven. But will there be a pasture where his animals stop grazing when they see him and the greenest grass in Paradise falls from their perfect mouths?
Copyright 2025 Ron Koertge
Ron Koertge is currently the Poet Laureate of South Pasadena, California. He has published more than twenty books of poetry including Yellow Moving Van (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2018), Olympusville (Red Hen Press, 2018), and Vampire Planet (Red Hen Press, 2016).
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A quiet bond deeper than words—pure devotion.
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As a long ago colleague and friend of Ron’s, I expected no less than a perfectly constructed, magnificently conflicted poem. Bingo! Hugs and thanks from across the years!
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I’ve admired Ron’s poems for a long time, so I welcome his first contribution to these pages.
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‘The greenest grass in paradise falls from their perfect mouths’ – what a perfect sentence to convey his love for his animals.
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Hi Jan, how nice to see you back on these pages!
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Brief and powerful. A few words that break us open
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I second Laure-Anne’s comment and Vox’s response. Loved the poem.
The summer I was the hired man on a dairy farm, a chore was to feed the calves. One kept trying to kiss me, and the old farmer told me not to get too friendly, cause the poor fellow was soon going to be veal. My job was fattening him up. Never forgot that teachable moment. If there’s a heaven for animals, not all humans get an invite to visit. Thanks for the reminder.
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‘If there’s a heaven for animals, not all humans get an invite to visit.’ Perfect!
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Yes, Michael — what mastery in concision. How Ron Koertge chose the exact right words, syntax, imagery & tone to make this fine, fine, superbly moving poem in 9 lines. I have loved his poems for a long time — this is a beauty!
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A whole life is contained in these few sentences!
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