Shepherd's Poem

I pray to open up that lock,
That heart in the heart of the wood:
Go build a house up on that rock.

I awoke to hear the maelstrom talk,
But only heard what sleepers could.
I pray to open up that lock.

A single dozen's now my flock.
I wish that all the vanished would
Go build a house up on that rock.

The stars shine the windows, knock
On the heavy screen of my hood,
Say open up that lock.

Grace will coat the grass I walk
When my hands of crusted mud
Go build a house up on that rock.

When there are no drooping stalks,
Or weathered laws to be withstood,
I'll at last open up that lock,
And build a house up on that rock.