One hand on the throttle –
engine idling, he kicks
aside the coughed up grass

impeding his progress; continues
chewing blithely through
the last remaining stubble

of his days; until, finally;
the machine insists: stalls.
A moment of quiet –

the world stops turning
as my father bends low,
reaching into the mower

for the wet dark clumps
clinging to the moment.

©2009, Pete Mullineaux

Pete Mullineaux lives and works in Galway, Ireland. This poem is from his collection, A Father’s Day published by Salmon Poetry in June 2008, which has been described by various reviewers as, “tender & lyrical,” “gorgeously resonant,” and “grimly funny,” and has drawn comparisons with Brian Patten and John Cooper-Clarke.

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