Two more acres to plow today
But \'tween the rows she did lay.
She dreamed of stalks of high corn
Bushels of beans and peas–
All alone and far along–and
the sun off distant canon gleamed.
She gave birth in the field
and lay the infant \'tween the rows.
There he kicked and squealed
with dirt twixt his tiny toes
She buried the afterbirth
using only her callused hands.
She hurried, and worked
a shallow sanctuary in the land.
Cooing to her child,
clicking to the mule
she raised again the plow
and sweated on past the noon.
Two more acres to plow today.
\'Tween the rows the baby lay.
Augustus / Folsom, LA / December 2016