A distant shelterbelt of cottonwoods
boils at the edge of a cornfield
that waits to be cut for silage.
Arid gusts rattle withered corn leaves
ringing with the screaks of red-legged locusts.
Ladybird beetles cling to the wild roses
that stagger down the slopes of empty ditches.
An old woman toddles past the empty barn
and silo, her apron full of corn
for her chickens.
Coe Review 