To the Husbandman

1. Red Berries

                 in the field—   yielding—

I walk behind you:

smell the field

want to hold you

—your skin

want to hold you, smell you

—your skin—: I

smell the field—  I

walk—punished—behind you.

Once I plucked red

berries for you

—brought red berries

to the field for you

—in the field

I gave you red

berries—: knew they were

your weakness.

2. Sustenance

He carries your disappointment

—is the figure of your desire.

Even the littlest poppy lives

under your tending fingers—  and

yesterday, that one cow—

who never seemed to care—  came

to where you plopped down, stretched

her neck—  tongue—  to—c a r e f u l l y—smooth your hair:

tongue—

t o u c h i n g ... —just enough: nourishment.

Love—  a different word—  different food—

from Fire.

Coda: Mules

Grass—grass—the great material which supports all flesh, and forms the material 

nature of man himself! Grass—the cultivation and perfection of which it becomes 

one of the first duties of the husbandman to promote.

                                   Transactions of the N.Y. Agricultural Society  —1855

                         (A squall of seagulls feeds on plowed ground—)

              Did my cold spell seize you?

              What’s turned under will—in some form—turn up;

              I never said I didn’t need you.