He and Time
The tree had grown around the wire
Before my Granddad cut it down
But he left the trunk as a fencepost
Sprouting squares of wire
Years later he removed the fence row
But he left that tree trunk there
Twisted and stately
A sculpture in the field
Did he see what he and time
Worked together to create?
Did a farmer’s mind
Direct the farmer’s hand?
The siding on the old barn
Was weathered warped and worn
But to me it was as beautiful
As a painting in a gallery
When the sunlight angled off those boards
They shined in black and white
And all the cracks and lines of grain
Were like the lines upon his face
Did he see what he and time
Worked together to create?
Did a farmer’s mind
Direct the farmer’s hand?
So many landscape paintings
Show old fences and barns
And things neglected by man
But not by time
But frozen moments
Are second hand
And living art
Grows right out of the ground
An old plough and rusty harrow
He left lying behind the barn
And each spring the long bluegrass would grow
Up through those old machines
Like a jungle covered ruin
Lost to history
Mixed media of grass and metal
And sun and wind and rain
Did he see what he and time
Worked together to create?
Did a farmer’s mind
Direct the farmer’s hand?
