The Stripshow Poem by Bryan Sefton

The sheep clenched between his knees
His hunched back bent as if to shield
It, not contain it. His hand opening
And closing, working the shears
In regular rhythm. He curses the sudden
Struggle and heaves it back into position
The others, freed momentarily from perturbation
Look soulful on at this undressing
As if modesty were their greatest asset
And the losing of it a castration

Does the slowly revealed shoulder
Throw the ram into a paroxysm of pleasure
Does he watch in keen anticipation
The rest of the dress peel and fall away
when she stands naked before him
Sheepish in her modesty, is it an
Orgasmic climax to the shearing?
Later, amid snips, he casts withering glances
At the ewes looking, leering, over the wall