Dropped into life
In night pasture's
Nursery, the
New-born calf
Struggles in the grass.
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Slick and shiny,
Fresh from the womb.
The June moon
Mirrored in Holstein.
Blankets of lick and nudge
The mother muzzling
Kine tradition soothes
A bovine contentedness
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Throughout the herd.
Night breezes nestle
In lowing.
Bawling dawn
Breaks in a red
Morning hunger.
Spindle-propped hellion
Only hours old
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Butts at the
Flank of breakfast.
Mother just chews,
Relieved in the giving.
The day moves
Through unconcerned.
Killdeer cry in the heat,
Scooting ahead of
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Plodding hooves.
Screams of dust
Hide their piercing
Indifference.
Two mangy cow
Dogs fight over
The cow cleanings
They've found.
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Growling tugs of
Snap and bite
Bare a restlessness
In this pastoral.
In the tall grass
The baby calf lies
Coolly hidden,
His mother sensing
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The fate of
Bull calves.
