Gates (first published in Rope and Wire Journal-May 2012)

Grandpa and I would salt and cake,

he'd drive the pickup,

I'd get the gates,

my older brothers thought I a fool,

getting gate after gate,

nine in all,

but they didn't hear the stories Grandpa would tell,

or learn the secrets of doing good work well,

letting tools and nature,

give you a hand,

or understanding the farm,

and the lay of the land,

they only thought of the gates,

nine in all.