Jane showed me
the tombstone
of the farmhand

who had fallen
under his tractor
the year before

a few wild flowers
were placed
in a jam jar

in front
his wife and daughter
are still in

the tied cottage
Jane said
but they'll need

to move out soon
once the local council
finds them

somewhere to live
I looked
at the words

on the small stone
I didn't know him well
she added

he was a quiet man
cows mooed
from a nearby field

I looked at Jane
next to me
he was only 35

I said
quite a few men
die in the way he did

on the land
she said
she knelt down

and placed
a few cowslips
in the jam jar

and tapped them
into shape  
she stood up

and we walked
around the church
and along the path

onto the narrow road
between
the high hedgerows

birds sang
the sun shone
down on us

how's your father doing?
she asked
he's ok

he likes his work
in the woods
keeps him fit

he says
I said
we stood in

by the hedge
as a tractor
went by

she smelt of apples
as I got close
to her

her dark hair
was tied
in a ponytail

her dark eyes
gazed at me
the tractor sped

along the narrow road
towards the farm
I wanted

to kiss her
but I didn't
I looked at the sky

where rooks flew
overhead
but dreamed

that night
that I kissed her
inside my head.