other animals

the great wild cow bound me to both of them 
—at first I was all thick hair—barley 
dragged through mud—I ran with gazelles ate 
grass drank rivers—I wasn’t there when 
he crushed what could have eased his final 

journey—stupid I know but I would
have shared what strength I could gather if 
—but I was gone by then—and when that 
shining lady tried to claim my friend

—I tore off part of her great bull—flung
it at her crown—missed—the streets slipped with 
gore—we’d won the fight—but then sickness—

his face rained by my side for days until  
a worm dropped from my nose to the dust