A Poem Inspired by a Line I Was Fed...

...that made me think of Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres, from which this blog gets its title, and John Steinbeck's magnum opus East of Eden.

Goddess of the No Good Dirt

For J.S. squared

Goddess of the No Good Dirt, 

Whose eyes spring open before Helios’, 

Rises instinctually from her single bed

Pulls up the threadbare quilt, then

Sidles into a modest robe.

Deep sigh. Turned knob. Opened door.

The Goddess passes the room belonging to 

God of There Must Be Water, 

Who, too, is stirring.

Not a word exchanged -

The routine telepathy.

She descends the unfinished pine staircase,

Which creaks with every footprint.

Goddess does not make eye contact 

With the relatives on the walls.

For, if she did, she’d find it hard

To complete the day’s work, 

The life’s work, 

Of adding water to a stream

That could irrigate the land

That would give rise to crops

That should make moving out here 

Worth it.

She adds water to the pot

And coffee grounds to the water

And brings it to a boil. 

Then there’s the straining.

There’s always the straining.