Milk and Bones

Four feet planted firmly in a flowering field
How long we have plowed this field
Seasons sinking towards something sweeter
Air can take the pollen smell away
bring her breath to our ailing ears
Four steely feet feared by tan little girls
Sink away in the muddy rain
Lakewater moss and algae bones
Steel toed feet fade too
Like the bones of a burning barn:
“SAVE THE COWS! SAVE THE COWS”

we are reduced to ashes
we are reduced to dirt
milk, oil, water, wind
what we become
where we come from
In a cold bed I hear nothing
I couldn’t eat my dinner without
a glass of milk to wash away the meat
I’ve grown old, too
My feathers are a silver foggy grey this season

When we were young we found the way to the water
and drank from the lapping lake
When we were young we fought and struggled
forgave like the sun dries a stormy night
the grass was greener
we held on tighter
the storm killed the baby birds
and it was me who burried the bodies

My feet are asleep
With your feet turned to mud
It’s harder to find the lake

on my own in the summer
one without the other
Remember when we were both mothers?

We know the heart of a mother
cries harder than others
at the breaking of rhythm
the pull of a cow-hide collar bruising our milky bones
a body used, a body abused
Empty and exhausted, you can’t win every time
I wear my heart on my sleeve

With your breath in my ears,
I closed my eyes and let you see me clearly
I reached out to touch your heart
like a storm you moved towards me
Naked eyes and naked feet
I was afraid of your pregnant body
opened my eyes in time to see
your face crash into mine
hand to heart, iron feet
Remember when we were both mothers?

B-Star

(photo credit L. D. O'Niell)