fdelano Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Unending Rows Cockleburs cling to my double-cuffed overalls, I squinting through sweat in eyes set on the marker tree shading only the end of an unplowed field. The proverbial admonition echoes the threat of looking back in admiration incurring a crooked row ahead. Mollie Mule farts loudly, stopping at my Whoa!, its stink permanent in the still, heavy air. Futilely, I wipe at salt-sweat with soaked sleeves before jiggling leather straps to start the bottom plow, sloughing dry, red dirt, my stinging eyes again finding the guiding tree. Finally standing in the meager shade, I soak my sweat rag several times with water from the stowed Mason jar, to wet the mule’s eager, sucking lips before tilting the glass for my own two, quick sips. Hawing to turn the plow into the next row, I loosely wrap the reins on the right curved handle, finding a new target tree in the distance, thinking only about the second water jar waiting, as I block any other thoughts of my future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcmarti1 Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 to wet the mule’s eager, sucking lips before tilting the glass for my own There is a lot of caring in that passage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinker Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Hi Frank, This has a kind of Seamus Heaney sound. I like it, it is earthy, literally. ~~Tink Quote ~~ © ~~ Poems by Judi Van Gorder ~~ For permission to use this work you can write to Tinker1111@icloud.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdelano Posted May 7, 2013 Author Share Posted May 7, 2013 High praise indeed! Just ordered the Kindle edition of Wintering Out. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank E Gibbard Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Firstly I liked this as I do your slices of life narratives generally fd. May I ask for clarification on this? What "proverbial admonition"? Is this a Lot's wife reference perhaps or am I miles off base? Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdelano Posted May 10, 2013 Author Share Posted May 10, 2013 Hi Frank. Not sure of the source, perhaps a Biblical admonition. My brother-in-law slave (me) owner taught me not to look back while plowing but to concentrate on the ground ahead. I see his warning as proverbial and applicable to almost any endeavor in life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank E Gibbard Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Oh thanks, I get it fd. Anyway the sound you had there admonition/admiration is a great fit by the way and I would like to say it is a grand engrossing account of an experience foreign to townees like myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_con Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 Loved the atmosphere! I did a uu retreat @ a methodist retreat center recently- Concurrently there was a methodist retreat whose theme was the 'Plowing straight ahead in the kingdom' we asked what this meant? the answer: http://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/2011/07/dont-look-back-while-plowing.html So that is the 'origin' of your landed BIL's admonition;-) Con/Jur/D Quote thegateless.org Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdelano Posted May 13, 2013 Author Share Posted May 13, 2013 Thanks, Doc. When I was about 11-12 and learning to plow, I also remember that the instruction was not to look back to admire the row. In recent years I have remembered the warning when mowing the lawn. The proverb works for any endeavor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonqueen Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 nobody can tell a better story than you, Franklin, you always put me right there. One of my favorites of yours. t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdelano Posted May 14, 2013 Author Share Posted May 14, 2013 Ha! You're likely tired of reading the thing, MQ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 There's a lovely warmth and human feel about this Franklin. It makes a perfect contrast to the iciness of Ted Hughes' winter poem "Tractor" . G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdelano Posted May 16, 2013 Author Share Posted May 16, 2013 Thanks, Geoff. Looked up "Tractor." Enjoyed and maybe even understood most of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatekeeper Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Enjoyed the time warp. These days, of course, there is no need to look at all - just set the gps, relax and wait for the end of the row, in your air conditioned cabin. Somebody somewhere must be writing a poem about that. Quote from the black desert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdelano Posted May 24, 2013 Author Share Posted May 24, 2013 Thanks, GK. I hope no one writes that poem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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