It’s May and corn is peeking through the soil.

What optimism these little plants must have,

With hardships and parched days ahead.

Farm hands break the soil to keep weeds

From stealing their food and drink.

 

May showers quench their growing thirst,

As they begin their climb toward the sky.

Nights are brisk and black skies sparkle with stars.

The countryside changes from shades of brown to green.

 

June’s fireflies celebrate the warming nights.

June bugs thump against screens,

As they are hypnotized by the light.

 

July brings growth you can hear in the darkness,

Joined by choruses of crickets and frogs in ditches.

Ears of corn swell with pride,

As they promise a rich harvest.

 

Stalks grow heavenward and in the process,

Roads become canyon paths between walls of corn.

The horizon has taken refuge.

 

August days are stifling hot among crowded leaves.

Raccoons appear; to taste the tender ears.

Deer join the great feast.

Cicadas serenade the breathless night.

 

September sends the sun lower.

Leaves and stalks become dry.

Tan brittle plants say autumn is in the air.

Ears grow heavy and droop from stalks,

Sending messages to combines and trucks.

 

October’s harvest moon casts its eerie light.

Monsters with glowing eyes,

Amid ghostly clouds of dust,

Bear down on stalks for the harvest.

 

November comes and stumps are all that remain,

Even those are chopped into mulch for the soil.

Kernels of summer now lay snug in their bins.

Cruel winds promise of snow.

 

Fields lain bare,

No longer a refuge for creatures.

Traffic out on the highway now appears.

Neighbors can be seen once more.

 

Yes Virginia, The World Gets Bigger

When the crops are out.