after Kenjiro Nomura – The Farm, 1934
Desertion
ominous.
Foreboding.
Where are people?
Where are animals?
Where, even, are crops?
Deathly still.
It’s as if
a warning siren
screeched.
No bird calls
No cricket chirps
No farm dogs
No grazing cows.
No swinging chaise
for grandmother
daughter
two grandchildren.
No red, rusty chipped wagon
to pull children
a couple of cats
around the yard.
No laughter.
Where are the cows?
It’s as if
they’ve been gassed
decimated
removed by force.
Farm stands guard
over its own emptiness.
