They surround you
like mountains their shoulders
flanks like boulders
the way they tighten
your breath
strong as a
built like a
mean as a
balls like a
it’s all true
and too too close
don’t worry
about stepping in
those steaming piles or
the urine-soaked straw
don’t pay any mind
to the afterbirth hanging
from that cow’s
mouth keep your eyes
on those bulls
always remember
you’re not one
of those children
who can toss
their arms around
those nightmare necks
whisper secrets
from the corn
into those twitching ears.
(“Bulls” Originally appeared in Poetry Now (defunct) Issue 38, 1983. Print only. Not available online.)
David Henson
Saragun Springs 
David
This works on many level and is as true today 43 years (!) down the line. The “afterbirth” startles, the metaphor is brilliant. So young, so angry.
Tremendous tension. I hope it has been seen other times since 1983.
(I believe “Perry Smith” would be a fine name for a bull.)
Leila
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Thanks, Leia. This is the first time it’s been reprinted. Truman would be a good name too…maybe not.
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David
You really capture the primordial power of all animals in general and this animal in particular in this poem. And maybe also the animal called “man.” The lines that are unfinished similes are brilliant, since they probably apply to bulls but maybe apply to man/bull, too, in some surreal way, like a minotaur. This poem is perfectly clear and also mysterious! Great combo. Send more stuff soon…
Dale
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Hello again to Annabelle at Rainbow Bridge, great name!
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Thanks, Dale. I like the idea of clear and mysterious. And thanks for the invitation to submit more!
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