tractor tom throws another bale on the haywagon

by markk

Posted to Action Poetry on 2003-06-20 12:47:00

tractor tom doesn’t wear a shirt,
sweaty barechested covered in
hay & dust, he hoists another
bale up by the twine, grunts
throws it up on top of the hay
wagon, screams: move! move!
runs up to the next bale of hay
laying like a dead dog in the
huge clipped field, heat beating
down like a silo tipping over.

torn blue jeans & work boots,
tractor tom flips his black hat
backwards, tosses another
bale onto the hay wagon.
we’re going 20 rows high!
he screams, harvesting animal
food, bedding, block by scratchy
block, king of the midwest sun
louder than a tornado boast

— markk