The 3-year-old sips
his hot chocolate.
His face expresses
pleasure. He tells me,
"Cows make milk."
"That's correct," I say,
as if he needs my opinion.
His grandma, my wife,
is at the cafe counter
getting her drink (I sip
my two shots of espresso).
The 3-year old asks,
"How do cows make meat?"
I say, "Well, cattle, male
and female, eat a lot of
grass and hay to make
their muscles big."
I dread the follow-up
question and in my mind
see abbattoir images,
hear horrific terrified
bellowing, smell blood.
The question doesn't come,
for he sees grandma
returning to our table
with her drink--a cafe latte--
made with oat "milk."
Hans Ostrom 2024
