First we randalled the cattle into the barn,
sort of like wrangling, but longer, leaner,
maybe more handsome too, milking it all
with my stainless steel machine,
uddering, wringing.
Later a calf coming but too large,
so reaching in and chaining its fetlocks,
slippery steel in hand heaving, braced
against the post birthing a bull
they name Randall. The bellowing
of steel, milk and pull.
For dVerse Poetics
qbit 
“The bellowing
of steel, milk and pull.” is such a powerful line. Love it.
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I love the scenery you pulled from the cattle here… somehow this sounds so strong to me.
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a strong name, with a meaningful origin
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“The bellowing of steel, milk and pull.”
What a gift to be able to laugh at yourself this way. Haha, good stuff, Randall!
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Thanks!
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So liked the repetition of ‘steel’ – once for the milking – the uddering and wringing (ringing) and once for the birthing & the bellowing. Shows us the reality (brutality may be too strong a word) of the diary/ranch. Also like how the lightness of the beginning (we randalled all them cattle) drops away – but still smiled at the calf’s name. Great stuff.
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Thank you!
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Excellent imagery in this powerful poem, q.
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The birthing of the bull is an amazing sight & denotes of strength. Really like your ending last line.
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Your name has a very verb-like quality. Nicely done.
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SMiles
CowBoys
With Names
CowGirls With Bangs
ain’t
that
the
way it goes..;)
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I love your farm humor in this poem. The twist at the end (no pun intended) was an interesting surprise. Randall seems like a tough rugged name for a boy to live up to!
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Artfully scripted…love the farm twist.
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I love the strength in this!
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Thanks!
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Oh, I like that. The fundamentals of life, that’s what you get with farming.
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Randall was my cousin’s name. I didn’t realize it had association with cattle.
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Nice to meet you formally, Randall:)
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Ahahaha!
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