On other side of grass-grown green
sits a shepherd, his back against a tree.
No one ever sees him;  he tends his sheep
all day. There is no one to talk to except
sun and sky and wind, but he is not alone,
for Cosmos is his friend. The shepherd,
sage of ages, is enlightened;  love is
who he is. He speaks in silence as his sheep
eat their bellies full, and knows both past
and future because of who he is. But we
shall never know him, so near and yet so far,
on other side of grass-grown green where
a shepherd sits, his back against a tree.

TOD HOWARD HAWKS