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Two Short poems by Craig Simpson

The Farm

Dark brown earth; life too me
stalks of corn; furrows between
fields of bales; waiting to be moved
Meadowlarks singing; goldenrod swaying

I hear a cow or two talking today
the geese chattering away
calves frolicking; playing away
flies everywhere; butterflies float

The wind is warm, dry, uncomfortable
elms swaying; their leaves singing
scents everywhere; some good some bad

The dog lazily lays in the shade of the car
cats chasing insects; others relaxed, lounging
chickens clucking; scratching to eat
all in a days work at our farm

Pick Up Trucks

Loyal as a puppy, but dented all over
carrying smells of many years on the farm
she’s only 12 years old, still does her job
I think she was blue when I bought her

Tires covered with mud, manure and grain
three wheel covers, one missing
grill broke from hitting that post last year
radio antennae is half there, bent over

Tool box in the back, scratched, sorta white
box all beat up, little or no blue there
dented up front, that’s where the scoop hit
tailgate works with patience and a good shove

Radio is on, listening for the markets today
old grain tickets stuck in the ash tray
dust everywhere, floor board with mud
seat is worn and torn, still seats me fine

One bumper is held by wire, the other one bent
seat belts are somewhere in there
the muffler is still there, tailpipe long gone
some of the gauges work, others used to

The farmer’s pickup is truly his other girl
steady, faithful, full of support
may not look like the same as the showroom
but, she is still there like your best friend

Although he now owns a dance and Taekwondo studio in Richmond, VA, Craig Simpson is a Nebraska country boy at heart. Born in McCook, he grew up in Red Cloud where he helped do the work on his family's dairy farm. After graduating from Hastings College, he left to attend graduate school in South Carolina, but soon came back to help his family through the farm crisis of the early 1980s. When it was over, he was accepted into a second graduate school at Appalachian StateUniversity, where he received his masters degree. He writes poetry and prose in his spare time, some if it inspired by his rural Nebraska past.

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