Something strange and wonderful
happened to my dad after the midnight
water turn and the lifting of the headgate.
His eyes were filled with moonbeams
and his voice rippled like the stream
running around our frame house.
“Listen, child” he said, “the whole world
is changed at midnight. When I remove
the dam around the headgate, that water
carries moonbeams down those furrows
and I am captivated by the spell
of running waters.”
Gives one time to think, not caught
by household cares and kids to feed
and listening to a woman nag.
It makes a man feel washed and clean.
If you listen close, you hear the world
spinning on its axis. The leaves breathe.
That shallow gurgling sound spins magic
round a growing stock. Seeds of life
reveal their inner secrets.
“Oh, child, something hppens
I cannot explain.”
Now I am grown, I know.
Like the water running free,
I remove the headgate
from my furrows
Frequently.