Ode to An American Herd by John Pursch

Speak to me in patois, rustled cattle.
Tell us of your brand-name hysteria,
your low-cut range plate,
your battle with bovinity.

Show us your wrought-iron
but bland efficiency,
your blinding gratitude,
your spider's gravity.

Sing for us
the prairie dog chant,
the moronic yell,
the automaton’s tirade.

Honor the three-piece suit,
wave high your nylons,
and dance around your
split-level dungeons
in patent leather shoes.

Author bio:

John Pursch lives in Tucson, Arizona. His poetry has appeared in Breadcrumb Scabs, Calliope Nerve, Camel Saloon, Clockwise Cat, Counterexample Poetics, Four and Twenty, Puffin Circus, Orion headless, and vox poetica. You can follow his work at John Pursch.