A 361, Early Morning

Above the hedge, where the road bends ahead, I can see a little bit of steam catching the light from the just-risen sun. When I get there, there are some cows browsing the grass and hedge, brown and white shoulders and heads all lit up in the bright light. As I pass, I can see the sunlight glinting in the big, glossy eye of the nearest cow, which is lifting its nose up. That eye must be taking in my speeding car, the hedge opposite, the weird ribbons of mist above the line of the stream through the meadows, and the slight rise in the land; and, above that, the crystal light of the low sun. That animal is staring at all of life, and its own clear, imminent death in the service of human needs. (Like all of us...)