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Cows give us milk, butter, and cheese. I lived with my cow from 2005 to 2017. She was big and had a red coat. She had big, beautifully shaped eyes. She had huge teeth and an enormous tongue.

I used to give her breakfast at 7:00  a.m., and then I would sit with her for a long time. Any time I was sad or had any difficult feelings in my heart, I talked with my cow. Any problems I had, I talked with my cow. When she looked into my eyes, I think she understood me. If I didn’t go visit her for a long time, or if I came too late, she used to moo loudly. I used to hear her yelling, and then I would go to be with her. She would watch me coming to her. She used to play with me and stick out her tongue to give me kisses. They felt very, very nice.

I had to clean our home, and it was a big home: 12 rooms, six bathrooms, and a garden. The cow’s living room was the yard. I would clean very fast so I could be with the cow. After her baby came, she gave it all her love. If she didn’t see her baby for a while, she used to yell at you loudly because she thought you had her baby.

I loved our cow. She was sensitive. She had very sweet feelings. Sometimes when she looked at me, I felt like she was talking to me.

My cow’s name was Desire, or رغبة in Arabic. She was a gentle being and felt joy and sadness, just like a human being. When her baby was apart from her, I could feel her sadness. I want all people to love cows. They have big hearts and feel for all people.

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Sabaa Saleh is from Sana’a, Yemen, and is 32 years old. She moved to Brooklyn in 2017. Her first language is Arabic. She likes reading and writing stories. She studies English at CAMBA with her teacher, Caitlyn Conefry.