American Milk Cow

American Milk Cow
© Surazeus
2024 12 22

The cow that stops before cathedrals doors, 
blocking highways so no car can escape 
vast maze of streets, becomes fountain of milk 
that floods the city with ache of desire, 
but people transform their cars into boats 
that glide in shadow of the lightless moon. 

People who get out of their powerless cars 
surround the milk cow to strip off their clothes 
and dance with wild abandoned to weird tune 
played on bone flute by angel in the pine 
which grows enormous from cathedral ruins 
till it knocks the glass moon out of the sky. 

When my mother catches the fragile moon, 
with hands long calloused from endless housework, 
she stitches clouds as faces children wear 
who play games of chase in the neighborhood, 
digging their hands in thick soil of the Earth 
to forge its substance in food and machines. 

When I look inside mirror of this world 
I see more clever version of myself 
as young woman wearing long flowing gown 
who dances gracefully by the Nile River 
to weave vision of our beautiful Earth 
with letters of fire on blank building walls. 

Kneeling on her prayer rug on house rooftop, 
she sings enchanting melody of faith 
that transforms into the patient milk cow 
who walks the world from sea to shining sea, 
leading refugees from destructive wars 
who journey across dunes of whispering sand. 

After weaving wreath from flowers and vines, 
Europa drapes it on horns of the cow 
that stands on pedestal in temple hall 
where Elijah raises knife to the sky 
and waits for Isaiah to prophesy 
fall of another empire from puffed pride. 

Reversing ourselves in alternate worlds, 
the snarky version of myself and I 
wake up in our opposite universe 
so we can become who we want to be 
while riding the cow of national pride 
to found our world business empire on milk. 

Riding on my American milk cow 
in holiday parade down city street 
where everyone gathers to sing church hymns, 
I pretend I am not the cosmic herald 
proclaiming reign of the messiah sleuth 
who appears as ghost on computer screens.