Thin cattle with humps and heavy heads
black, black and white, rusty brown
unguarded graze on the shoulders
where a scant green emerges
after a scant rain.
Too close to the narrow road
they stand like hitchhikers
only they do not lift their heads
for the car, the truck or trailer
their destination only the next green leaf.
At sundown single file
they trek homeward, inland
by some dusty route they know
black, black and white, rusty brown
duty bound to the invisible masters
whose plans for them luckily
they cannot foresee.
They sleep, they wake, they go forth
a few calves with them
through waste lands seeking food
between the saguaros and the speeding cars.
Here a dark sack of bones and skin
has fallen by the roadside
out of the entrails a raw head rises
ragged wings stir the dust
the rest move on starved and quiet
black, black and white, rusty brown.