Soooo happy that TFE has resumed the poetry bus extravaganza!
This week, however, we're posting in honor of Nuala Ni Chonchuir's
wonderful book, "Portrait of an Artist with a Red Car." Well, I do actually
drive a red Jeep Liberty, which I have named, Cherries Jubilee, so this
week's dedication is close to my heart.
Below is a poem I wrote a while ago after passing a farm and seeing
the cows getting loaded onto a red cattle van. I was amazed to see the
reaction of the cows across the street in the lower pasture, obviously
distraught. As it turned out, the cows were only on their way to their
annual check up. Whew!!!
Beoufed Up
Brown cows loaded
into a red cattle van
One last bellow
to spare their ribs
Black cow shouts out
from the lower pasture
"Don't worry, Girlfriend!
I'll meat you on the other side."
This week, the 'girls' will be on the menu:
Porterhouse, Sirloin, Filet Mignon
"Medium Rare, au jus on the side, please."
I wonder,
as the restaurant patrons
pass the emptied pasture
in beefed up red sports cars
with their beoufed up selves,
will there be a longing?
Jeanne I. Lakatos 2010
Oh, poor cows! Nice work, Jeanne. I loved the puns and the wordplay.
ReplyDeleteDid you read my poem "Poor Cow: A Love Poem" the other week? You can see it here, if you like:
http://hyggedigter.blogspot.com/2010/01/monday-poem-2-not-for-meat-eaters.html
Catch you on Friday (or on FB).
Kat
Intriguing one this Jeanne word play and humour and seriousness and enigmatic ending. Intrigue is good, enigma is good ,I likes it!!
ReplyDeleteNice looking Jeep too!
ReplyDeleteOh, that poem is so sad.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the hooley!
Nuala x
I add my voice to the chorus: I love the playing with words and the seriousness behind the humor.
ReplyDeleteLove the playfulness, jeanne, and especially this line 'beefed up red sports cars' ...great title too and its play on Beowlf (sp?) clever...; )
ReplyDeleteHi, I'm new to the bus, but I'm jumping aboard just in time for the party. Or is there a bus this week? All I know is I'm heading to the party over at Eejits.
ReplyDeleteI love the language in this - very very clever.
I'll meat you on the other side...heehee...love it!!
ReplyDeleteHi Kat! Yeah, thank goodness, the cows I saw were only temporarily removed from the pasture. I was amazed to see the reaction from the other cows, though. They seemed to be really speaking to each other and genuinely concerned about what was happening. Haven't blogged much this week, very busy getting the semester started. I will have to read your poem!
ReplyDeleteThank you, TFE! Yes, I needed that Jeep today with our surprise snowfall!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Karen. It really made me think twice about eating steak or burgers.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Liz! Beowulf? Never thought of that! I was just using the French word for 'beef.' Having been raised in Detroit, I would see many guys 'beefing up' their cars, making them more powerful, louder, etc. On another note, Liz...Some of my students ended up on your site and posted their comments there. I called them my Lost Lambs... had to bring them back to the 'fold.' ; )
Pure Fiction: Yes, hanging with TFE's Poetry Bus crowd is a unique experience, indeed. Thanks for stopping by.
Thank you, Willow! And thanks for dropping by and becoming one of my followers here. As I move forward with this new book, I'll be adding more revolutionary rhetoric to this blog.
The spare ribs bit is inspired!
ReplyDeletex
Thanks, Rachel, that line gets to me, too.
ReplyDeleteI was thrilled to see the cows back in the pasture about a week later. Those brown cows in the picture are the same ones that were in the cattle van. The black one lying down is the one that was upset. She's a sweetheart. Sometimes, I'll feed her tall grass by hand.
Ooh, feel so guilty commenting on this as I come from a family of slaughterers! Had to avoid Kat's cow poem for the same reason.
ReplyDeleteHowever, brilliant word play in this, and I loved the hope springs eternal cow comment,
"Don't worry, Girlfriend!
I'll meat you on the other side."
And I like the enigmatic final line too.
Thank you, Titus. Have to admit, I do like a nice steak now and then.
ReplyDeleteBecause I'm late visiting, everyone's already pinched the best comments, but I did like this with its melange of humour and anxiety.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Argent! I'm very late making the rounds, too. Someone has to be at the end of the parade, right? ; )
ReplyDelete