The Farm Boy Rides a Yamaha

By Vernice Wineera Pere

Skinny shoulders blistered by the sun,

freckles prominent across his serious face,

the ten-year-old herds slow cows

toward the milking-shed.

Back and forth behind them

the eager dogs bound and skip

watching for a sign,

but he gives none.

He is wearing blue and gold,

silk and leather,

numbered helmet that glitters in the sun.

The guttural lowing of the cows

are roars from great excited crowds

of watching people.

These tufts of tussock

veering his machine aside

are hillocks on his dangerous

and lonesome victory ride,

when, the gate ahead a checkered flag,

he guns into the cloud of dust

to roar across the finish line

bettering the record time.

Then,

wiping his face

on his scarf of silk,

he bails the cows

and prepares to

milk.

Photography by Eldon Linschoten