Sows produce huge litters
The runt pig is often too weak
to force its way amongst its
jostling siblings to reach a tit
Without milk, the runt perishes
Sometimes though the runt
is brought into the Big House
and kept warm in a box behind
grandma’s wood stove. Once,
my sister Pat was sleeping
in an improvised bed in the
Big House living room so
that whatever she had she
wouldn’t give to her siblings
in the Little House nearby.
That illness morning my grandpa
tipped toed in and tucked a runt
pig in the bed beside my sleeping
sister and the two of them cuddled
together and slept blissfully all morning.
Both thrived.
2026 Jacqueline Jackson
This article appears in March 5-11, 2026.
