RACHEL

When he remembered ‑ Jacob ‑,
No longer a young man in a hurry,
To pace himself to the pace of the slowest,
Children or lambs, was it you,
Rachel, whose shepherdess care
Finally had influenced him? You
Inspired him first to breach custom,
Roll the stone away. His ewe,
Cherished in his bosom, you transferred
His affection to Joseph, gave Jacob
His fruitful bough, rooted by where
He first encountered you, by the well.