For as far as the eye can see
and as long as a man can walk
these fertile, cleared fields unroll
with ears of wheat and heads of cotton
in crowds beyond what the mind can count.
Abundance accumulated in this land
runs deep into the blood, sweat and tears
of generations rooted down here,
the fortunes of families tied
to the fickle gifts of earth and weather.
Each year, a procession of seasons
marches through endlessly repeating necessities
of ploughing, sowing, tending and reaping
harvests that communities hope for;
beans, corn, tomatoes, potatoes
each in turn, born out of ground and water,
knowledge and muscle passed on
from father to son and mother to daughter.