Sam Avrett
Springtime in Auburn
Don’t wonder at us old men on a farm
As we load wood then shovel out the truck
Our truck has rust, the wood is ash
Cut from the land before the cold came.
It’s half past five still dark on the farm
First cows get fed then barn gets swept
Then town for supplies then apples pruned
Before the orchard awakes and sap starts to run.
Lights have come on at the town grange
Tonight we join for Black history month
We remember Tubman and the railroad here
Here we remain a country of decency.
All us old men in a February land
We load our stoves against the cold
We run our trucks through the work of time
We join with our neighbors no matter the weather.
Don’t wonder at us old men on a farm
It is late winter and the work will get done.
Sam Avrett lives in a rural county in upstate New York, with dogs, husband, and a startling amount of canned and preserved food stocked away for the winter.
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