Palmer’s Poems

A youth,
reluctant
in his mornings,
pitched chores,
hand milked
before machines,
before dawn’s
cold face glowed.

Today’s parlor cows
milked three times,
offer
68 degree grade A piped to
38 degree insulated tankers,
loses only
one degree Fahrenheit
on its way to Florida.

Wisconsin’s Amish
thrive small,
out-buildings all
neat and white,
they craft
cheeses,
furniture,
a life.

Threshing day rallied
rural community,
one family helping
another, and another,
cutting, bundling, setting
the long plank table outside,
all sweaty labor
until it rained.

Total electrostatic
green immersion, with
robotic spray touch-ups,
built-out combines,
all priced, purchased, shipped,
summering
a wheat harvest
Texas to Canada.

Uncle Clifford
seeded three consecutive
droughty, barren
years, bingo! 1940!
Wheat! paid off
all debts,
purchased prime
panhandle acreage!

Ginseng’s
central Wisconsin
growing decline, and
British Columbia’s
ginseng success,
turned on
climate, drainage, and
moisture control.

Elementary
as we are,
no teacher
needed
instruct
on the origin
of our daily bread
set to our tables.

July, 2008