The Cows And I Poem by Sophia White

As I was walking through the woods
I came upon a pair of cows –
On black, a giant mother, her udder full,
One white, her calf,
Standing in a muddy little pool.

I paused and leaned upon the fence.
I thought I saw the big one tense.
They fixed their wetted eyes upon my face
And stood stone still.
Neither moved in their respective place.

It came to me that they were awed –
The presence of Man in their humble spot
Before them, still and silent. Merely seeing
The mighty Lord
Of earth and creatures in it – overbearing!

Or were they trembling at the sight
Of one whose dark green eyes were, like
The leopard or the lion, at the front?
A predator!
Perhaps a wolf-thing out upon the hunt!

And then a third idea hatched:
Mayhap ‘twere I being watched
By two strong beasts with proud and grand disdain!
Did they think me
An intruder in their sacrosanct domain?

Long I thought, and pondered this.
Was there some detail I had missed?
Some frightened chill? Some haughty frown or glare?
What did they think
Of me – this silent as a stone still pair?

And then a light gleamed to life
In my poor, befuddled mind:
These two creatures simply didn’t care
Who or what I was –
They were hardly even conscious I was there!