Always Iowaby Janet Banks Not one recognizable face on the plane,in the airport John Deere memorabiliabeckon from the gift shop,the state, empty of love. Mother, spiffed up, her coiffure a pale shadeof apricot, Dad chewing on a bit of paperto calm his nerves as he paces,both long gone to graves. No welcoming. Kathy, once theContinue reading “Always Iowa by Janet Banks”
Tag Archives: farms
By Bus to Fresno by Philip Levine
By Bus to Fresno by Philip Levine I wakened at a filling station outside of Wasco to see the light breaking over the Sierras. The boy next to me asked were we there yet. He said it first in Spanish so perfect I smiled and said no. When he asked again in perfect English IContinue reading “By Bus to Fresno by Philip Levine”
The Grand Silos of the Sacramento by Lawson Fusao Inada
The Grand Silos of the Sacramento by Lawson Fusao Inada From a distance, at night, they seem to be industries—all lit up but not on the map; or, in this scientific age, they could be installations for launching rocket ships— so solid, and with such security, are they. . . Ah, but up close, byContinue reading “The Grand Silos of the Sacramento by Lawson Fusao Inada”
Kid, this is Iowa by Jeffrey Bean
Kid, this is Iowaby Jeffrey Bean everything we are is here—my dead grandmother as a girlhunting fireflies in tiger lilies,me throwing walnuts at gas cansby the barn, stomping mud puddles,my sticky hands lifting an appleto my mouth. Here are dogwoods and hills of corn that lead to more hillsof corn and more corn until theContinue reading “Kid, this is Iowa by Jeffrey Bean”
Indian Summer by Diane Glancy
Indian Summerby Diane Glancy There’s a farm auction up the road.Wind has its bid in for the leaves.Already bugs flurry the headlightsbetween cornfields at night.If this world were permanent,I could dance full as the squaw dresson the clothesline.I would not see winterin the square of white yard-light on the wall.But something tugs at me.The worldContinue reading “Indian Summer by Diane Glancy”
POETRY and PLACES 