Poem by Carl Sandburg

Improved Farmland

Tall timber stood here once, 
          here on a corn belt farm along the Monon.
Here the roots of a half mile of trees dug 
          their runners deep in the loam for a grip and 
          a hold against wind storms.
Then the axmen came and the chips flew 
          to the zing of steel and handle the lank railsplitters cut 
          the big ones first, the beeches and the oaks, 
          then the brush.
Dynamite, wagons and horses took the stumps--
          the plows sunk their teeth in--
          now it is first class corn land--
          improved property--
          and the hogs grunt over the fodder crops.
It would come hard now for this half mile of improved farm land 
          along the Monon corn belt, on a piece of Grand Prairie, 
          to remember once it had a great singing family of trees.

1. Baby Vamps
2. Haunts
3. River Roads
4. Beat, Old Heart
5. Baby Face

Print

1676 Views

Last Poems

To Russian version