The old elm tree by the river -- Poem -- Breaking -- The country of marriage -- Zero -- Prayer after eating -- Her first calf -- Kentucky River junction -- Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front -- A marriage, an elegy -- The Arrival -- A song sparrow singing in the fall -- The Mad Farmer Manifesto: The First Amendment -- Planting trees -- The wild geese -- The silence -- Anger against beasts -- At a country funeral -- The recognition -- Planting crocuses -- Praise -- The gathering -- A homecoming -- Leaving home -- The Mad Farmer's love song -- The strangers -- The cruel plumage -- Testament -- The clear days -- To William Butler Yeats -- Song -- The asparagus bed -- Poem for J. -- Inland passages -- An anniversary.
Summary:
Each of the thrity-five poems in this collection is concerned with our relationship to nature, to all of humanity, and, ultimately, to God and the powers of creation. The farmer and his land, marriage and the family, form the central images. The long title poem, perhaps the finest single work in the book, is a grave, moving, and beautifully wrought love poem. The shorter lyrics have an equal beauty and perfection of phrase. And there is humor, too, notably in several new poems about the "Mad Farmer," who first made his appearance in Farming: A Hand Book, and who advises us here to "every day do something that won't compute."--Harcourt, Brace and Company / Harvest Books.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.