Valentine's Day
Barb Wire Heart by Susan Glaser Church
Valentine's Day on the ranch generally isn't the romantic fantasy it's cracked up to be. Still, working side by side in difficult circumstances forges its own bonds... I'd love to hear some other examples from you all out there...
Friday Night C-Section: Valentine?s Day
Holiday weekend
He's done what he can. The cowboy
Comes to the door, holding bloody gloves,
Defeat on his face.
Hook up the trailer, 6:00 Friday night
And the roads not so damn peachy either
Too small to believe she's calving,
Trying to die besides.
Load that damn heifer up
Head for town.
Freezing rain whips our faces in the dark,
One of those marital planning conferences
that takes 30 seconds.
"You go get groceries, as long as we're here,"
He says, unhooking behind the vet's concrete operating room.
"This is going to take awhile."
I take my time, staring at paint in the hardware store,
Not thinking about the salmon pink
Of the bedroom walls.
I was going to fix the place up
Last week
For our anniversary.
At 7 pm, I push open the door to the
Bright-lit room.
Red heifer's still standing,
The vet, long dark hair and girlish smile
Wiping her face with her sleeve
Pools of blood at her feet.
She's getting there.
The steel chute holds the patient steady
So she doesn't kick the doctor.
Imagine standing, conscious, for a C-section.
"Hold this suture for me?"
I sit down on the stool next to her, watch
Her strong, quick hands twist
The curved needle, layer by layer,
Long fingers catching the cat's cradle of tissue
Spin, twist, tie,
spin, twist, tie
through the tough hide.
"I'm getting slower." She shakes her head.
"Hands are getting tired."
Both of us cut sutures,
Helping her finish.
She might as well have her Friday night.
I don't ask about the calf.
Home late
Weather's no better on the way out.
We park the trailer in front of the house
Leave that heifer in it overnight,
Eat sandwiches I picked up in town.
Watch TV without talking
For our anniversary dinner.