She Never Will Forget
by Mike Moutoux, Western Entertainer & Cowboy Poet

She found a spot she liked on the east side of the hill
Where the morning sun would hit and the March wind would be still
This was the place where she would first give birth
And bring a tiny, brand new calf to the good green Earth

The night he came was long and the pain kept her awake
When instinct said to push, she did, and then would take a break
And finally, he was there, soft, warm and wet
The little guy would never stand and nurse; she just didn’t know it yet

It’s hard to say what cows think; how much instinct runs their minds
We’ve learned their ways and find them predictable most times
But now and then, one comes along to teach us something new
About what a cow will and what she will not do

We saw her sometime in the morning and we both could tell
Their postures told us clearly that the birth had not gone well
She was still there in the afternoon and we be began to fret
He would never stand and nurse, she just wouldn’t accept that yet

We drove her into get a drink and left the calf behind
Surely time and space would take the baby off her mind
The next time we saw her; she was back, but not alone
Ravens now had gathered there to pick the baby’s bones

These were busy days for us, so we left her there to grieve
With the ravens who kept waiting for the stubborn cow to leave
I saw her one last time as the tired sun began to set
By the calf she must know was dead, she just wouldn’t leave it yet

There is a spot I know on the east side of a hill
Where the morning sun is warm and the March wind will be still
It is the place of course where that special cow gave birth
And gave him up too soon, to soon, to the good green Earth

The night he came was long; the pain kept her awake
When instinct said to push, she did, and then would take a break
And finally he was there, soft, warm and wet
The one that would never stand and nurse, the one his mama can’t forget