NYSC

A newly-born calf

is like oven-baked bread 

steaming under a cellophane cover

The cow cuts 

the shiny coat

as a child would

lick a toffee

with a tongue as pink as 

the sole of a foot.

The calf sways on legs 

filled with jelly and custard

instead of bone and marrow;

and it totters

to suck the teats

of its mother's udder.