Solitary, even among the herd,
calf’s loneliness shows more
than its limp.
Stutters out of step, slips
skittish glimpses side-to-side.
Feels your flintknapped eyes
pierce its hide, but plays blind.
Your horse chips in to the fold,
slowly cracks cattle wide,
pries the calf loose.
You rive calf from its kine,
wait for its fear to ease
into defeat.
1 comment:
You've made this feel very physical, like the others in this series, with all the kinetic words. I think that works well with the subject.
I only wondered whether you really wanted such a violent word as 'rive' in the last stanza?
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