Holstein Heifers by Charlotte Mandel

Holstein Heifers
by
Charlotte Mandel

Swinging the bells of their waists,
walking the grazing slope with delicate
knockneed legs, they point their fastidious
double-toed feet. Letting the tail fall
in a single braid between the hips,
they perform a young girl’s
dance of vanity.
I love the way they stop what they do
to gaze at me. They look at me as I
look at them: one woman to another.

This poem first appeared in Embers (v.vii, # 2, 1982)
Used here with the author's permission.

Photo credit: Richard Mandel

Charlotte Mandel lives in New Jersey. Though she didn't embrace poetry until midlife, she is the author of eleven collections and her awards include a Lifetime Achievement Award from Brooklyn College, the New Jersey Poets Prize, and two fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Charlotte's published work also includes the Eileen W. Barnes Award anthology of older women poets, Saturday's Women, and a series of essays on the role of cinema in the life and work of Hilda Doolittle. Learn more about Charlotte at charlottemandel.com.

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