Midwest Thanksgiving

Midwest Thanksgiving
by Linda Hoffman Kimball

East of Dubuque
Quilted pastures roll
In green and golden swells,
Humming choruses of bounty.

On the next rise
Cows munch and huddle,
In bulky black and white,
Lowing exultations.



In November, 2008, I went to Dubuque to visit my friend Alyson Beytien. After a rejuvenating weekend stay, I headed home, east into Illinois farmland.
The topography of western Illinois is more rounded than eastern Illinois. The long vistas of rolling fields in autumnal tones were breathtaking. I “happened” on a herd of cows munching near the highway and pulled off to admire them. One noticed me standing at the fence watching them. Then others did. Soon they were all heading my way, at first slowly, then at a trot. Did I represent the promise of better food to them? Was I an intruder in their bucolic territory? Was I just something bright and different to catch their attention…like a red cape flapping? I got a little spooked by their pace and curiosity, hopped back in the car and headed east again.


The process:


Heading home from Dubuque
I see the quilted pastures,
rolling green and golden slopes
humming their quiet choruses of bounty.
Up ahead, the b

West of Dubuque
Quilted pastures comfort me.
Rolling green and golden slopes
Hum quiet choruses of bounty.

On the next rise
A cluster of cows shimmers black and
White bright as

EAST! of Dubuque
Quilted pastures roll
In green and golden swells,
Humming quiet choruses of bounty.

On the next rise
A cluster of cows huddles
In radiant black and white,
noses, glistening flanks

On the next rise
Cows munch and huddle
Glistening black and white
Lowing exultations.