"Andy's Gone with Cattle" is a poem about loss. Written from the perspective of confused loved ones, the text talks about the departure of young Andy from the farm. He's gone to war presumably. Not knowing whether or not he will ever return, his family preemptively mourns for him after his departure.
Back home on the farm, everything reminds the family of their missing Andy. Things start breaking which he is the only one who knows how to fix. The animals need tending, his former job. Most importantly, the various people left behind start missing him terribly. Consequently the poem starts out almost as a remonstrance for Andy since he left them behind.
As the text continues, it grows more desperate. Shifting from longing for him to return, the discussion turns to the possibility of him never coming home. The narrator talks about the void that exists in his absence. Then, in a sort of benediction, the text prays for abundance and health for all those left behind. The narrator prays for a bountiful harvest and a blessed season, of which the culmination will be Andy's return. From grief to admonition to blessing, the folks back home walk through the hardship of lending a beloved son to the war with no promise of ever getting him back.
