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Something is Given

Text of Poem

Something is given
as if to a poet,
a piece of land perhaps
to plant his words in.

I plow the sod,
disc it smooth.
In this lap of earth
spill my seeds.

By the waterway where
once a gully flourished,
tall grass hides rabbits
and pheasants, shy as
my thoughts.

I cultivate the land,
keep the weeds cut,
pray for rain in a dry
season. I hope for mature
stalks and ripe corn

before frost.
This, my land, far from the sea
and its empty words repeated
wave after wave.

First Line
Something is given
Original Pub Location
Original Publication Date
1980
Original Citation
Stone Country 7.1 (Feb. 1980) 17.
Complete Poems
405
Word Count
91
Poetic Form
open
Bibliographic Notes

HFP Box 58 Pub Log lists title as "Something Given"

Themes
Twitter Quote
all grass hides rabbits / and pheasants, shy as / my thoughts.