Legacy for a Daughter

A poem trying to make sense of the past...

Legacy for a Daughter



Father says
Grandfather
waded tobacco fields
drenched in sweaty work
Grandfather gauged his days
by horse drawn carriage pattern
of his great uncle the country Doc
Grandfather figured it was cooler work
and leapt from secondary
to medical school

Only girl
in the fields, I
listen to neighbor boys
brag how well they lift heavy
hay this season of baling and
of tractor pulled wagons
racing the rain for a dry stacked barn
My hands so yellow hard callused
I make safety pin tunnels
never feel a thing

Father works his town job
With this hobby farm
he dreams us back where
Granddad started

I watch the road
for carriages