Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE SUN IN THE CRADLE OF CORNFIELDS, by PAMELA MCCLURE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE SUN IN THE CRADLE OF CORNFIELDS, by                    
First Line: His laughter the burning of kindling
Subject(s): Farm Life; Fire; Agriculture; Farmers


His laughter the burning of kindling
in this dry season, he stands in the bed
of the pickup truck,
feels the wind and the cool
when the road dips
and doesn't listen when his friends
tilt their mirrors form the sun to see him
and he knows what eager birds do
when the door is open. He lifts
his arms into the science of flight
and falls into matchsticks, turning
into the that first call, the mother
from the door, the mother calling
on the third floor son, son
saying to the nurses I know
he squeezed my hand, I know
and he is somewhere ignoring the voice,
treading through the snow-dust
of scorched July, his shaved head beginning
to grow stubble again but he moves
out form under the eaves
like all children do, forgets
the mother's warning, her call and tests
the edge of the fire. Is it the sun
in the cradle of cornfields,
the tassels browning already?
And what light, he hits as he rises
at sunset, oh bright flame, oh bright flame.


Copyright © Pamela McClure.
http://www.wlu.edu/~shenando






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