tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8303906221917588052.post8035982340066289803..comments2023-10-19T10:51:43.826-04:00Comments on Author Amok: Poetry Friday: Spring and AllAuthor Amokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13636391982938592789noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8303906221917588052.post-13679850004971998382012-03-23T21:30:33.359-04:002012-03-23T21:30:33.359-04:00Hi Laura! Happy birthday to your mom. My own mothe...Hi Laura! Happy birthday to your mom. My own mother loves gardening too - she loves planting orchids, and the plants would simply bloom under her loving care. Thank you for sharing the beautiful poem as well.GatheringBookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04477710897574769648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8303906221917588052.post-42705320202044089732012-03-23T08:25:03.085-04:002012-03-23T08:25:03.085-04:00Laura-- Thanks, although I'll have to say, th...Laura-- Thanks, although I'll have to say, that I'm not sure yet what effect working the soil together will have on my sons' choices of professions. The professions listed in the poem are my grandfather's (ag economist), father's (entomologist), and me (geographer). Maybe I need to make that clearer in the poem. My grandfather was the one who left the family farm, but stayed close to farming, working for USDA and with farmers and extension agents. My father also worked for USDA in the Ag Research Service, finishing his career working on breeding insect-resistant wheat. I've strayed-- I'm at the Census Bureau-- but my gardening keeps me close to the ground.Michael Ratcliffehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02469869423353363535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8303906221917588052.post-22402443775137612492012-03-23T08:15:30.076-04:002012-03-23T08:15:30.076-04:00Hi, Tabatha. At this point, I am giving in, but I ...Hi, Tabatha. At this point, I am giving in, but I am mourning for the winter that wasn't.<br /><br />Mike -- thanks for sharing this poem. I am struck by the idea that working the soil together had a profound effect on your sons and what they now do for work. Entomologist? So cool.Author Amokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13636391982938592789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8303906221917588052.post-14723644006460451232012-03-23T07:49:54.312-04:002012-03-23T07:49:54.312-04:00Laura--
Great poem-- thanks for sharing it.
If y...Laura--<br /><br />Great poem-- thanks for sharing it.<br /><br />If you don't mind, I'll share my spring/gardening poem:<br /><br />SPRING SOIL<br /><br />(For Zachary, Dylan, and Harrison)<br /><br /><br />Kneel beside me in the garden<br />and feel the soft, moist dirt, <br />warmed again after winter’s freeze,<br />turned and readied for planting.<br /><br />Scoop it, feel it in your hands,<br />crush the clods in your palms,<br />squeeze the dirt through your fingers<br />until your hands are rich <br />with a black dermis of soil.<br /><br />The soil of spring is part of us,<br />in our psyche and our souls;<br />it is our past, our present, our future.<br />We are of the soil, my sons-- <br />though three generations from the land, <br />our professions have stayed close:<br />ag economist, entomologist, geographer.<br />What will you do, sons of the soil,<br />descendants of farmers,<br />who wrote lives in the earth?<br /><br />So, my sons, take this soil,<br />hold it in your hands, <br />feel the moist warmth radiate,<br />and no matter what you do,<br />or where you go in life,<br />turn a spadeful of dirt each spring,<br />take the soft, warm earth into your hands<br />and feed your soul.Michael Ratcliffehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02469869423353363535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8303906221917588052.post-37052022896047362632012-03-23T04:12:13.520-04:002012-03-23T04:12:13.520-04:00I feel that way about gardening, too. I've bee...I feel that way about gardening, too. I've been drawn to dig and plant, but it also feels wrong...too early. <br /><br />I like your new side-bars! (They may not be that new any more, but I'm just noticing them.) Very nice.Tabathahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14367572663591077922noreply@blogger.com