Farm Work 1954

a poem by Jan Oskar Hansen

The boy was so tired up at five and milk four cows,
the dairy truck arrived at six.
Leaned his head against White Star’s rumbling belly,
so warm and soft it was.
He fell asleep
awoke with a start when she mooed
and tried to reach him with her rasping tongue.
The other three mooed too
till a door slammed
and the farmer came to see what the raucous was about,
but then the boy was busy milking
didn’t even have time to look up.