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 and lyrical,” “gorgeously resonant,” and “grimly funny,” and has drawn comparisons with Brian Patten and John Cooper-Clarke.

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