Lavinia Kumar
Three Cows in Quito

Three black and white cows,
bullocks up close, graze in front
of the three peaks of Pichincha,
one volcano eager to erupt
famous for its hot temper
named Guagua, “child”—
in 1999 last exploded
long before these calves
were born to eat grass, tethered
between fence, agave cactus,
and the white stone house,
till three shots in the night
told of quick conversion
to new life
on a hot grill.

<< return to the Table of Contents for New Series #5: Summer 2018, Volume 3 Number 1