How They Speak of the Fields

For us. They say:

just dig your hands

into the good, good

soil of the field

and you will grow into a child

of our heart. Be quiet

and work, for you are good

at it, for you are almost

a child of our heart

already. Listen

and we will reward

you. We will reward

you, but don’t talk

 — you will want to

have earned the

reward. We will

reward you later, much,

much later. Are you not

a child of the field, a child

native to the field?

But I have never seen

the field. I was born

in it but squeezed

my eyes shut. I squeezed

my eyes hard shut

so I could imagine

another field....