MILK by Stan Sanvel Rubin

What is the conspiracy

that leads farmers

 

to put VR goggles

on cows

 

to encourage them

to produce more milk

 

by picturing lush green meadow

while they’re stuffed into stalls

 

and how does this simulation

relate to the cartoon

 

your own life has become?

You wear a snappy suit

 

all day and follow the rules

but the rules have started to blur

 

and are visibly fading.

They used to be posted

 

on every fence

wherever you looked.

 

They were easy to remember.

You would bow your head and feed.