Ten Cows
for Nancy who saw it first
In a fenced pasture,
after brunching
the morning away
under October sun,
ten black cows relax
at noon in a folded posture,
favoring a lean to the left
while chewing their cud
in a state of ruminating
indifference—the white
noise of Highway 46,
the stacked panorama
of cumulus clouds—
all in all the signs of a
healthy herd just outside
Ellettsville, Indiana.
And that’s good enough.
A retired teacher of English and photography, Roger Pfingston is the recipient of a Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and two PEN Syndicated Fiction Awards. He has new poems in Innisfree Poetry Journal, Sheila-Na-Gig, Tipton Poetry Journal, American Journal of Poetry, I-70 Review, South 85 Journal, and Midwest Review. His latest chapbook, What’s Given, is available from Kattywompus Press.