“Another Prayer of the Mad Farmer’s Wife” by Rita Quillen …
– from Her Secret Dream, collection by Rita Quillen (Wind Publications, 2007)
“Another Prayer of the Mad Farmer’s Wife”
May the weeds grow into heart-shaped hedges
Giving symmetry and order to ragged fields
That August sun has turned loose and ugly.
Let sunburned calves and the tired mothers
Find a pool of winter-cool shade
Between woods and creek at our world’s edge.
I am lost on a heat-shimmering quilt
Just yards from an open door where
My children watch for the relief of nightfall
And aimless bees and flies look at me
Saying, “You must know something.”
Let there be silence once again
As voices dwindle to snowsoft murmur.
My life rising anew from behind the mountain.
sam of the 10,000 things 
Thanks for featuring this, Sam. It’s still one of my favorites, though it was written long ago….i so love the Mad Farmer’s Wife and am always glad to hear from her…
For me, the opening lines are perfect in connecting poetry to the land itself:
“May the weeds grow into heart-shaped hedges
Giving symmetry and order to ragged fields
That August sun has turned loose and ugly.”
Great work, Rita. Great book.
Thanks so much! You are very kind and generous with your praise for others’ work!