Goodbye, Marigold

Marigold was rescued from slaughter by Pear Tree Farm in April last year and we adopted her, along with her sister Sweet Pea. Within days she was jumping onto my lap for treats. She was a chatterbox, always greeting us with clucks and purrs and chirrups. She allowed the grandchildren to cuddle her. She was dearly loved. Last month she stopped laying. Then she went downhill with salpingitis. Now she is buried in the backyard beside dear Hari. “Only a hen”, but she leaves an aching gap in my life. No-one should die unmourned.

A poem about Hari Rama the Brahma hen, from ‘The Flossie-Raptor’, Barley Books 2021