THE DAINTY MONSTERS
Michael
Ondaatje
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As Thurber would say — C*ws
By 7:10 they have finally shuddered
the last of the night off
and can be regarded as awake.
But even awake they keep the presence
(coiling sleep)
of Italian restaurant owners.
And all the energy is in the tail of the cow.
It is their one pound of flesh
that lives up to the Twentieth Century,
the one troublesome cockerel in the barn
rising like a pyjama cord
to bring these bony animals to life.
My wife is the tail of the cow;
she coaxes me up in the morning
removing bedclothes and body
and throws a breakfast at me
demanding appreciative nods at 6 a.m.
But these animals
with the energy of their manure
are drifting summer
and all the seasons
ferment with ease in their udders.
Even their desires are supplied.
O for a professional poke
from a thick thighed
black pedigree.
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