Coals
The abandoned farm is a black pool
aaaaaaain the memory of the forest beyond.
The road goes by never stopping; only echoes
aaaaaaaof dead horses and a shout
aaaaaaafrom my grandmother
aaaaaaathat the huckster wagon is coming.
The clouds build their silences until
aaaaaaathe noisome birds fall quiet
aaaaaaaunder all that weight overhead.
Even the mailbox is gone, the lane weed-choked.
The only living voice is the rustle of the corn talking
aaaaaaawhen the wind rises and the sky
aaaaaaasurrenders to the storm.
He dreams the light burning
aaaaaaain that distant afternoon
aaaaaaaleaves enough coals
aaaaaaafor him to bend over, breathe deep
aaaaaaaand blow upon, ignite
aaaaaaaa flame
aaaaaaabright enough
aaaaaaanot to save
aaaaaaabut reveal,
aaaaaaaif only for a moment,
aaaaaaaall that was lost.
Haying
The long stretch of hill field, long hours round
tossing bales into piles, scrambling to keep up
with the baler, dodging yellow jackets sound-
less behind the roar of the tractor, heads up
as well as down, watching for groundhog holes,
rocks, snakes, anything might bite or snag
yet we’ve still to grip, heave, toss, and up the knoll
go following until finished, then trail the zigzag
paths between scattered piles, now lifting
to fill the wagon, one up, one down, artists
of balance: both to keep the bales from shifting
on the steep, uneven ground and ourselves smart
enough to do the same, stay upright and sure
that when comes the barn all are there, all secure.
“Haying” was first published in Dark Hills of Home, Monongahela Books, Morgantown, WV, 2022 and is forthcoming in the full-length collection, Dispatch from the Mountain State, Vandalia/West Virginia University Press.
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Marc’s latest collection, Following the Silence, is published by Press 53 and available here.
Learn more about Marc on our Contributors’ Page.
(Photo: Oregon Department of Ag/flickr.com/ CC BY 2.0)
- Two Poems by Marc Harshman - May 16, 2024