heavy rollers clank
on steel rails
overhead
recently slaughtered
carcasses
hung on hooks
swing past
by the half
and the quarter
heaved into place
a bandsaw whines
cut after cut
slicing through
muscle and bone
until bone dust
starts piling up
blood red slabs
slap down
on each stainless-steel table
as hyper-sharp knives
in a blur of fists
slice toss repeat
until a life once whole and alive
is neatly piled into buckets of each–
bone fat meat
a whoosh of the vacuum packer
as each steak, chuck, and round
is sealed in plastic bags
what’s left is
‘hamburger’ ground
the final path
on rolling racks
from open range
now piled
on shelves
in tidy stacks
amateur butchers
remove aprons of
thick yellow vinyl
covered in blood,
fat, and more
removing gloves
of black nitrile
sterilizing each table
and floor
the band saw
dismantled
until nothing remains
of this one life
hosed down the drain
and the grass-fed,
locally raised,
hormone-free,
grain-free,
well-cared-for-cow
has been neatly processed
in a stainless steel plant
near the field
that once was its home–
a freezer now
and the circle of life
on a ranch is on full display
when each cow’s life
ends this way
© Copyright 2021 Brooks Bradbury / BrooksLooks / All Rights Reserved
Brooks Bradbury 