Farm

R and his class spent five days on the farm, a corner of paradise knows as Domaine de St Laurant, near Cluny. The farm is organic, (biodynamic), and self sufficient, for example, they grow the wheat, grind the wheat into flour and bake it into bread, milk the cows & make the cheese, chop the wood for heating and ovens.

Milking the cows 6am

Pulling the plough, Donkey time

Mucking out the pigs, making cheese, chopping wood

Churning the butter, which wouldn't melt in his mouth







Making & baking the bread

Planting

And here is how it seemed to me when R came back, in French, and then in English:

R est de retour
Pieds plantés sur terre, enracinés
Tète au soleil, cheveux éclaircis, joues couleur terre légèrement cuites
Un œil très clair
Il me raconte pendant deux heures
Tout ce qui lui est arrivé à la ferme
Il n'attend pas ma réponse
Car il est toujours là-bas
Il me dit avec une grande simplicité
Qu'il est en meilleur santé à la ferme
Où l'air est pur et la nourriture
Vient directement de la terre, du soleil, et de beaucoup de travail

Il m'amène de la terre sous chacun de ses ongles et ses doigts de pieds
Il me réserve quelques larmes qui ne tombaient pas là-bas
Il est dur de prendre un bain quand on n'est pas du tout fatigué

Je plonge mon nez parmi ses cheveux
J'inhale l'odeur de l'air ensoleillé et
Du calme, et d'une grande harmonie des âmes
Il a gagné en une semaine 3 millimètres d'une dent qui en partant
N'avait pas encore brisé la gencive
J'ai perdu un petit peut de mon fils
Il a gagné un petit peu plus
De la personne qu'il est en train de devenir

R is back

Fleet planted deep in the earth, and rooted

Head in the sun,

Hair bleached, cheeks with a touch of terracotta

Eyes very bright.

He tells me all about the farm

for two hours,

not waiting for my response,

as he is still there.

He says quite simply

That he is more healthy there,

Where the air is pure

and the food comes from the soil, the sun, and much hard work.

He brings me soil, under each fingernail and each toenail

And saves me some tears, which he did not let fall over there

It is very hard to have a bath before bedtime

When you are NOT AT ALL TIRED.

I bury my nose in his hair and breathe in deeply,

the smell of sunny air, and calm, and a great harmony of souls

His front tooth, which had not pierced the gum when he left

has grown three millimetres in one week

I have lost a little bit of my son

He has gained a little bit more

of the person he is becoming