Lambie the Kid

In the poetic novella, Kid, Bernie goes goat hunting and mistakenly shoots a female goat that had a baby. The baby was too young to survive without its mother’s milk, so Bernie decides to give Lucy the responsibility of nursing it with Carnation milk until it’s old enough to eat grass. The baby goat is a symbol for Lucy. She wants to name the goat Lambie like a baby sheep, but Bernie corrects her by telling her that baby goats are called “kids.” Lucy insists on calling her Lambie because she is still unsure about her own identity.

By nursing Lambie, Lucy grows fond of her. She favors Lambie’s unique smell and looks forward to feeding her everyday. In contrast to Lucy’s mother kicking her out, when Lambie grows old enough to eat grass, she accepts Lambie into her home. Lambie eats her mother’s wild violets and Lucy is forced to release Lambie to the Onekahakaha Zoo in Hilo. Lambie is too tame to be released into the wild. Male goats are called “billies” and it is indicated at the end of the poem that Lambie is a girl. Lucy identifies with Lambie the most when the “big billies” surround her inside the cage and she has nobody to protect her. At this point Lucy pleads for Bernie to help Lambie and admits for the first time that Lambie is just a “kid.” The word “kid” has two meanings in this poem; one as a baby goat and one as a child. Lucy’s experience as a helpless kid being surrounded by older boys who only want to take advantage of her is relived through Lambie.

- Francis Miguelino