“‘Cow Crashes Through Roof, Kills Sleeping Man'” by Matthew Olzmann

An excerpt from the poem “‘Cow Crashes Through Roof, Kills Sleeping Man'” by Matthew Olzmann, published at The Cortland Review :

 

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‘Cow Crashes Through Roof, Kills Sleeping Man’

—Headline, USA Today

There are priests who can protect you
from demonic possession and eternal damnation.
If your house swells with smoke, there are alarms
to alert the fire department; it’s possible not much
will be lost. A vaccine to prevent the virus.
A barking dog to deter the intruder.
You can wear a life jacket.
You can wear sunscreen.
You can wear a helmet, on your bicycle
or while napping on the couch.
Even bullets can be stopped by a fashionable vest.
But a cow falling through the roof?
There is, my friend, no playbook for that.
It’s cloudy tonight.
Above you, the moon recoils
like a witness from a crime scene.  […continue reading here]