Two Old German Women
There were a thousand hoof-marks of sheep that had passed
Unharmed along the ledge, but only two dared not tread
Where others had gone, trusting what they had learned:
Food from mothers nurtured into deep-flowing veins of faith.
Yes, how could it be other, they thought now,
Sitting under the tree they had grown up with,
Ever shielded, their hovering vault.
There were a thousand hoof-marks of sheep that had passed
Unharmed along the ledge, but only two dared not tread
Where others had gone, trusting what they had learned:
Food from mothers nurtured into deep-flowing veins of faith.
Yes, how could it be other, they thought now,
Sitting under the tree they had grown up with,
Ever shielded, their hovering vault.
| Collected Poems 19 |
