when i was young i’d go to
my friend’s house in the country.
his neighbors had a small herd
of goats and to protect them
they bought a llama. this was
coydog country.

we were at an age of innocent
cruelty, my friend and i, so we
sometimes threw crab apples
at the llama’s rump.

when they got the llama it was
fairly young, though very large.
as it grew bigger the llama began
to think it was a goat. when he
went into rut he tried to mate with
one of the goats and accidentally
killed it.

after that, they tied the llama
up next to the road to the
crab apple tree and every
time i walked by he looked
at me angrily.