Cows - lost, refound, tinkered with.

Gold cherry
Poem of the week

By onemorething

Tue, 18 Feb 2025
  • 506 reads
17 comments
 

This poem is not a new poem, but after a therapy session, my therapist reminded me of it and I couldn't find it so searched through emails and thought I'd repost it with a tinkering. I don't know when I wrote it, 2020 or 2021 maybe.

 

Cows chew the cud of the mist,

their slow grind, the haze lifts, 

the march of light; miraculous.

This morning, I have heard the call 

of a heron, harsh-throated in hungry dispute,

and seen the dark tips of a hare's fright

of ears tremble from the disguise

of golden scrub. 

I have seen the day ascend

the wet shine of a new leaf

bedecked by the emerald mystic

of a dragonfly in sun worship.

Yet a cow has never sought to be special,

seeming so everyday; a child's tenth word,

pointed at in a first book or from passing

pushchairs, but this morning, 

I saw the moonglade captured in the dew

on waking cattle, damp and rheumatic, 

how they set about the digestion of brume,

the forging of a day, and I knew

that there was nothing ordinary 

about a cow. 

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Comments

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

Wonderful - nothing is ordinary in nature. Thank you onemore, and it's lovely to see something new from you

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Thanks insert! Not new, but a revamp. And agreed, nothing ordinary in nature. 

 

Submitted by Turlough on

Of all the animials I have come face to face with, cows have had the most gorgeous eyes.

A lovely poem, beautifully tinkered.

Turlough

Submitted by onemorething on

They do. I have been chased by a herd of cows, but I think it was all just a bit of a mushroom picking misunderstanding. Gentle eyes and sturdy beasts. Thank you for reading it, Turlough. 

 

Submitted by Sooz006 on

Wow .... no wonder your therapist remembered this several years later. This poem is beautiful and I love your therapist, how caring and professional he/she must be to retain the work of a patient in their heads for 4 or 5 years. And how bloody good does that make you at writing? What a compliment from them. 

I've shared this on the FB button, but with your permission, I'd like to post it to my writing group with credit to you and ABCTales. 

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Ah thank you, Sooz. What a lovely comment. And of course, you can share it wherever you want to, it'd be an honour. Yes, my therapist is a very good egg and a man of great forbearance because I think he may have read every poem I've written in the last five years. It's a good job he likes poetry! Thank you again for reading and your very kind comment, has quite cheered me up. x 

 

Submitted by drew_gummerson on

That last line really made me smile with joy. 
 

Congratulations. This is our Pick of the Day. Please share on social media. 

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Thank you very much, Drew! What a treat! 

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Gorgeous! I love all your wild, transient framings of the solidness of cows

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Thank you very much, Di!  Yes, they are sold creatures, aren't they. 

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

A lovely description of an early morning glimpse. And then the transition to the solidity of the cows, but also very special. Many town children haven't seen a cow. When you first meet them they do seem very big! Rhiannon

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Thanks, Rhiannon! I do love the quiet of early mornings, mist on the river and waking cows. Yes, that's very true about some children never having seen a cow, and very sad. They are big, stout beasts. Scarily so, if they're chasing you across a field! I generally find them to be peaceful beings though.

 

Submitted by Penny4athought on

Cows seem complacent when they are grazing. I find them comforting to watch and I agree with Turlough, their large expressive eyes are gorgeous. They’re sturdy, beautiful beasts. Your poem brought me into an early morning light where I saw all of nature awaken; flower, insect, and beast and each made me aware of the magnificence that can be experienced every morning.

I'm glad you reworked and reposted this poem; it is a gift to read.sad

Penny4athought

Submitted by celticman on

lovely in many ways. 

 

Submitted by marandina on

"I saw the moonglade captured in the dew.."

[Made me think of a photo I took of cows in shafts of sunlight near Wookey.]

Capturing the remarkable in the unremarkable is what makes us human. You do it so well in this beautiful poem.

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

This is a very unique poem, as are cows, tampered with by us and their extraordinary lives, calfs torn away and the endless milking. I love the contrast between the wild creatures and pastoral scenes. 

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

This is our Poem of the Week - Congratulations!