ON PRODUCTIVITY
The Holsteins salt and pepper
spring-green grass. It’s the early
morning cud chewing, they rest
under the warming
sun.
Heat waves
begin
to shimmer
the pavement
as I drive
to evaluate
Ms. Smith.
Drop by drop, the cows’ udders swell.
Milk bags sway between their legs.
Time to enter the milking shed. Each tag read,
logged into the record, the day’s production
tallied.
Daily, a computer
calculates
my quota,
need
twenty-eight
visits.
Number 50 is dropping off,
probably due to age. An old milk cow
isn’t much good for anything
except dog food.
Chagrin River Review Fall 2012
