by contract, the poet Jorie Graham is allowed to tether her cow in Harvard Yard

               

this is stated in the original contract which

dates back to John Quincy Adams

as a chaired professor of "rhetoric and oratory".

(freakin' Harvard)

I didn’t think I was actually forbidden to tether my cow

in the famous yard, and Harvard's just up the road apiece.

you'd think I'd have a claim of residence or something.

but why would Harvard deny me this perk of citizenship?

could be her cow is better than my cow, born and raised

from the finest patches on the right side of the tracks.

maybe her cow gives more milk per squeeze, a sweeter,

vitamin rich milk, a smoother, creamier milk, a milk she can be proud

to serve her kids along with their strawberries and coconut macaroons in the morning,

whereas my kid eats OREO cookies and he's lucky to have them, and my cow’s

just a regular ol’ cow you might see in the field during a pleasant drive

through the countryside, (I'm thinking Westport) and all she does

is quietly wonder about the things around her because she's beautiful,

and maybe Harvard's full-of-shit about Jorie Graham 'cause I'll bet

a dollar to a donut she ain't never even got no cow, nohow. spit. plunk.