Losing The Farm Poem by Richard D Remler

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They took the farm -
That small parcel of land where
Murray's Grandfather
Had rooted his young family
Way back when...
Where he planted soybeans,
Cowpea's, and corn
And let Spring and Summer rains
Water them,
Let the honeybees
And the hummingbirds
And the butterflies pollinate them.
Let the sun beat down
Into them and draw out their
Silken scarfs, and the rich loamy soil
Fed them as they weathered the wind, the rain,
And the hail, until there was no more rain,
And no hail, and the winter snow was
Not enough to fill the water tables, and crop insurance
Had run its course, and the bank came
And divided the land by parcels and
Sold them to people who did not
Know how to till the soil, or plant the grain,
Or harvest the crops. The land was mercilessly leveled,
And piped and paved, and tall buildings claimed
Each measured square,
And flood lights drowned out the
Evening stars.
And Murray's Grandfather, whose optimism
Was almost infectious, lost his final
Thread of hope and slowly, sadly,
Walked the eighty steps to the banks of the old
Raccoon River, where
The evening sun hung low over the trees,
And wild deer spied him from the dense dark,
Where he said a little prayer for his family,
Just before he put a bullet in his head.



Copyright © MMX Richard D. Remler