Ode to Land | Teen Ink

Ode to Land

February 10, 2011
By Dragonscribe BRONZE, West Lafayette, Indiana
Dragonscribe BRONZE, West Lafayette, Indiana
4 articles 0 photos 303 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A Person's a Person no Matter how Small"
and
"A Rose by Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet"
and
"God helps those who help themselves"


Of rich red earth
turned in the dust,
of the ancient worth
of the ancient crust.

From far and from wide
is the array of patchwork
that men till, men ride
to put meat on their fork.

There is dry and there’s wet;
there is fertile and dead.
All these have bills to be met
and hungry families fed.

From the sparkle of wheat
to the dull gleam of soy
to a John Deere single-seat
and of harvest the joy.

Rice fields in Asia and olives in Spain;
corn, beans, rye, cranberries and taters
all depending on steady care and gentle rain
the farmer, the crop-father, caters.

It is Land that man fights for
Land that stands until the sun gives out
that has been here since folklore;
this is what power is all about.

Every man who has felt it in his palm –
the life of the land, the lasting worth –
knows there is no qualm:
he has earned the earth.


The author's comments:
This was written for my dad, who is, of course, a farmer. I also wrote it after reading Gone With the Wind and being inspired by Gerald O'Hara's love of the land and the way he speaks of its worth. When you think about it, land lasts. Land is what wars are fought over. A million years ago, there was land, and million years from now, there will still be land. It's pretty amazing.

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Luthi3n GOLD said...
on Sep. 27 2022 at 9:37 pm
Luthi3n GOLD, Doriath, Minnesota
13 articles 0 photos 29 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A writer is a world trapped inside a person." —Victor Hugo

Neat concept, and congrats on editor's choice!