BUT O WHAT COST…

Hereford and Holstein Calves at Kids’ Farm, Smithsonian National Zoo, Washington, DC

One Holstein and one Hereford,
Black and white and white and tan,
Adam’s sweet and gentle wards,
Symbiotic beasts of Man

Daisy licks at Lily’s neck,
Lily turns a placid eye
Toward September’s candle wick,
The sun descending in the sky

Now the farmer sweeps their barn,
Bedding makes it clean and snug,
All the cattle lie down warm
The smell of hay is like a drug

And now they sleep and dream of some
Meadow that’s their kingdom come,
But O what cost it is to keep
Such cattle peaceful in their sleep