What ancestors unite <br />Here in this red and white <br />Kelpie to define <br />His symmetry of line, <br /> <br />As crouched in burning dust <br />He halts both Time and beast? <br />The wethers stamp the ground, <br />At his will turn around. <br /> <br />He is of collie stock: <br />Austerity of rock <br />Has lent his mind and bone <br />The toughness of its stone. <br /> <br />And though for Border flocks <br />The collie and the fox <br />Fought tooth to tooth, they joined <br />And have the kelpie coined <br /> <br />Whose ears acutely set <br />Across the centuries yet <br />Hear the concordant sound <br />Of coupled horn and hound; <br /> <br />And as the moon the tides <br />The hidden vixen guides <br />With craft the blood that strains <br />And surges in his veins. <br /> <br />Those who stand and stare <br />At cripples in the fair <br />Have not the eyes to see <br />His blood's dignity <br /> <br />Where old adversaries meet, <br />As now on velvet feet <br />He moves to his master's call, <br />In action classical.<br /><br />David Campbell<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/at-the-sheep-dog-trials/
