cow pushes
hard, long
granddaughters
come along
to witness birth of calf
girls interested in kittens
already few weeks old
realize something wrong
in birth canal – nose, one hoof
show but never second foot
leg bent unnaturally
cannot push out
(naturally)
must pull
stillborn
Unfortunately, this was our experience yesterday…linking quadrille to dVerse.
a poem in my pocket 
Apr 26, 2017 @ 04:47:31
What a shame! The girls will realize it is not smooth sailing but it’s a good experience. It should make them have more sympathy for birth situations in future.
Hank
Apr 26, 2017 @ 07:02:13
Yes, good can be gleaned from this experience…renews all our appreciation for miracle of live births!
Apr 25, 2017 @ 12:45:36
This is so sad… and what an experience of life (and death) for your grandchildren.
Apr 25, 2017 @ 11:15:58
I’m sorry. 😦 Never easy to experience or to try to explain. Even in death there is life. Hopefully the new kittens will offer some comfort.
Apr 25, 2017 @ 11:45:00
Yes, they are farm girls who have seen dead animals before…glad for the kittens and a couple new calves now.
Apr 25, 2017 @ 08:06:37
A sad alignment of word and real life. An especially hard experience for the girls I would imagine but fortunately they have the kittens (and you of course)
Apr 25, 2017 @ 04:13:47
Oh dear… so sorry. The young ones learnt something..maybe too soon..still valuable.
Apr 24, 2017 @ 22:20:52
This is so sad, Lynn. Must be hard to explain to children.
Apr 25, 2017 @ 09:58:48
Yes…on both counts; yet, they must learn that death is part of life in this sad world.
Apr 24, 2017 @ 20:44:08
Oh my 😦 I am so sorry, Lynn
Apr 24, 2017 @ 20:24:12
I much preferred when we raised feeder calves in the spring to bred heifers. There was always some calving problem to face. Pulling calves can be extremely disappointing, ugh! I feel your pain.
Apr 24, 2017 @ 20:42:20
I’m glad for your empathy…we used to feed dairy heifers and ship them back before calving. It was easier! Our buyers got out of the business and our son wanted to grow a cow/calf Angus herd. Today, we had 2 new calves, alive and healthy.
Apr 24, 2017 @ 21:45:13
Alright, they lived!!
Apr 24, 2017 @ 20:16:05
Sad to hear of the loss, just another day in a farmer’s life.
Nice poetry telling a true story.