Tall Corn Oakley
I swear by June the corn looked down even when I stood astride eight growling cylinders of Deere. On the fourth I put two of my broad-shouldered boys ‘tween my my number twelves and the hood and still couldn’t reach the first husk. August, as hot months go, went like a fairy tale of clouds that swallowed ear after ear of golden eggs. Not a kernel knuckled under to the early September drought. And fall didn’t stop my climb to the top. Where I ended up you won’t believe, but I tell you true: That crop gave Harvest Moon a whole new meaning — sure as I’m standing here.
Oakley On Mud
Mud! We’ve had fields so muddy a man would sink to his knees if he was walking on his hands. I’ve seen butterflies land on a cabbage and push the whole head under. You know how muddy a field is when you shine a flashlight on it, and it won’t support the spot. Why once a flock of crows flew over a sinking tractor — the downdraft spun’em to the ground. I sunk in over my head once ten years ago. Held my breath fifteen minutes ‘til they dug me out. Look here — See this dirt under my nails? Never did clean’em so I wouldn’t forget.
Oakley on the Level
Now, with laser controls you can pick bacon from your teeth while you pull the planer and still get the grade perfect for irrigating. Years back you had to study the land, plant every bump, dip and ripple in your brain. One fellow I knew put a half-glass of water ‘tween his legs in the tractor, cut the slope by the tilt of the water. Another could tell by watching his collie walk alongside him. Me — I used the sun and the bill of my cap. Ah, back then when you pumped water in one end of a row and it flowed to the other just right — felt like you were flowing with it.
These three poems appeared in Sou’wester in Fall, 1985.
David Henson and his wife have lived in Brussels and Hong Kong and now reside in Illinois. His work has been nominated for three Pushcart Prizes, Best of the Net and Best Small Fictions and has appeared in numerous journals. His website is http://writings217.wordpress.com. His Twitter is @annalou8
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