Ode to Texas Beasts

Thomas Quitzau

May 26, 2022

Dip, munch, munch, rise

Dip, munch, munch, rise

Everywhere we look, we can spin and see you, it seems, 

“The best cuts end up north, y’all, in NY and Seattle”

While we hear of “meatless diets” and saving planet earth

Some salivate for the taste of pure protein beneath the girth

Dip, munch, munch, rise

Dip, munch, munch, rise

In the Lone Star state where there’s no shortage of steaks

In feckless fields covered in grassy feed growing fakes

Emerge encased in a leathery hull, tough surrounding waists

Firm enough to stop rattlers’ fangs

Dip, munch, munch, rise

Dip, munch, munch, rise

Pierced numbered ears flipping down, then up

The branded steers waddle and step in slow-mo

Lines of fence posts define sharp limits

For these serene harmless creatures

Dip, munch, munch, rise

Ridden by none

Eaten by few

Famous to many 

In passing cars

Dip, munch, munch, rise

Sacred elsewhere

Such a gentle relic

Awaiting, unbeknownst 

Her invisibly barbarous fate

Dip, munch, munch, rise

Dip, munch—

Dip, munch, munch, rise

Dip, munch, munch, rise

Thomas Quitzau is a poet and teacher who grew up in the Gulf Coast region and who worked for over 30 years in Houston, Texas. A survivor of Hurricane Harvey, he recently wrote a book entitled Reality Showers, and currently teaches and lives on Long Island, New York with his wife and children.