Tethering goats
Goats are the most productive of animals
Growing rapidly and littering in pairs,
Triplets and even quadruplets!
And soon the house is full of goats
Braying and bleating everywhere!
If you but see them in the dry months,
You would love their shiny coats
And fine furs as they file in at dusk.
You wonder what they have been eating
Since the land is brown and bare.
But the elders of old have an adage:
“another’s hand cannot be oily enough!”
So even with the fresh green grass
Of the many rainy moons,
They are not as fair as with the dry grass
Fruits and twigs of the hot dry months.
All because they are tethered in this season,
And their food comes at the hands of us boys.
Growing rapidly and littering in pairs,
Triplets and even quadruplets!
And soon the house is full of goats
Braying and bleating everywhere!
If you but see them in the dry months,
You would love their shiny coats
And fine furs as they file in at dusk.
You wonder what they have been eating
Since the land is brown and bare.
But the elders of old have an adage:
“another’s hand cannot be oily enough!”
So even with the fresh green grass
Of the many rainy moons,
They are not as fair as with the dry grass
Fruits and twigs of the hot dry months.
All because they are tethered in this season,
And their food comes at the hands of us boys.
It's said that goats don’t like sheep
Because sheep pass water too much,
And don’t mind the mud and the dung.
But the goat is an elegant animal.
Always tidy, and sporty.
And ever with a trick or two
Up their sleeves.
Ever trying to find dry ground
Away from marshes and mud.
And that is the trouble with them!
Goats are quite intractable!
Not easily shepherded like sheep
At the least trouble, they break up and run
In a thousand and one directions
And the shepherd stands bewildered!
So they must be tethered
All through planting and harvest
And a boy must find good fresh grass,
Which they will sniff and nibble
disinterestedly
And the boy gets into trouble
When they don’t eat well!
That is why tethering goats is hell!
For they are stubborn and conservative.
Will not eat where the grass is green and
lustrous,
But want to nibble where it is sparse and dry.
Will not go where you want to send them
But want to go where they want.
And when they don’t want to go,
Will stretch out their forelegs in protest.
And the boy must pull and pull…
Then suddenly they jump!
And may land on his foot.
All because there’s a little patch
Of wet ground in front of them,
That they would never walk through.
Goats are inclined to run when you shout.
They won’t stop like cattle or sheep
When you call out to them.
And when they break into a run,
You’ll sweat to catch them.
For they’re very sprightly and agile.
All the leftover saab* you ate
Is as good as gone if one breaks loose!
And if you haven’t had it yet,
Then you must dig in or face a cane.
For if you let it go, many crops will go too.
And this will be discovered
And your angry father
Will visit you with vengeance
Goats never like the rain.
They start to bleat hysterically
When the clouds but do gather.
And when a drop of rain falls on them,
All hell breaks loose!
They will immediately make a run for it.
And the ropes will fling them back sharply
But they will not stop!
Sometimes you think a goat’s neck
Is made of concrete or steel.
As they bleat and run wildly
And the ropes fling them back sharply.
The rope must cut to free them
Or they will uproot the peg
And run all the way home still bleating.
Ruining all in their path as the peg drags
Through the crops in their trail.
Sometimes they never make it home,
For the peg gets tangled with crops or grass
As it is dragged along in the mad flight.
There you’re sure to find them
Looking miserable and dejected,
Drenched with the rain,
And their voices gone hoarse
With the loud nonstop bleating.
A pitiful sight indeed!
But it is not only the rain that makes them mad.
The he-goats are a nuisance of a kind
Driving many a she-goat mad
Especially when she’s not interested
And they will not give up, never!
They come unsolicited, wild and randy
Chasing the nanny round and round
Where she has been tethered.
Returning again and again
even when driven away
More resolute and raucous than ever.
The unyielding nanny finally breaks loose
and runs all the way home
With a pack of billies at her heels
Poking and attempting to mount
her.
But a pack of goats is a thing of pride!
Being at their best in the long dry months
When they roam abroad free
Nibbling at dry leaves, grass, fruits and all
If you but see them then, you would love them!
And when they come filing into the kraal
As the daylight drops in the west,
You’ll sit and wish to God that you had a goat!
These goats are full of pride. Their meat though, A soup changer. Nice reading.
ReplyDeleteGoats do have a stupendous character. We may regard them as stubborn because we might not fully understand them.
ReplyDeletethat's a Good one
Hahahaha...I wish I have a goat already. Interesting piece.
ReplyDeleteInteresting piece of writing! The memories and imagery is so clear and priceless. I couldn't help reminiscing my own days in the village, and all the great childhood memories that seem to be fading. You have brought them all back in an instant! Thanks so much and keep it up.
ReplyDelete