In fourth gradeI picked tomatoesto make money.
The night before, we packedour lunches with anticipationand American cheese sandwiches.
We left at dawn with the sunslithering across the desert,twisting the horizon into slivers of gold.
The drive out to the farmlandwas filled with yawns and coffee.I leaned against my brother and dozed.
On our way we passed farm workers,their painted signs blurring by.I catch one word, strike.
My brother yells, Viva la Razabut don't yet know what it means.He raises his chin and smiles.
In the field the smellof disturbed earth and sweat mingleswith the sound of giggles
from my sister's friends.I stand in between rows,a bucket full of green tomatoes
too heavy to lift, my brothercarrying it to men sittingin precious shade.
We left as soon as the thermometermoved above 100.The others stayed.
This poem is a true account of Maria Garcia Teutsch's short time she spent working in the fields. Maria currently teaches in Salina, California, in the US. This area is commonly known as the 'salad bowl of America' and many of her students have long histories of field work. Plenty of them have parents who make their living in the fields. This poem has emerged from her inspiration and humble appreciation of their daily work. For me, as this weeks editor, I was immediately drawn to this poem of Maria's as it possesses such a strong grounding in the landscape. The social conditions intertwined with the act of 'tomato picking' appears to emanate naturally and effortlessly from this powerful and nostalgic evocation of the journey and the landscape.
Maria Garcia Teutsch is editor-in-chief of Ping Pong Journal of Art and Literature published by the Henry Miller Memorial Library in Big Sur, California. She teaches poetry and creative writing at Hartnell College in Salinas, California. This is also where she edits the Homestead Review which is now in its 10th year of publication.
For more words, visit her blog: mariateutsch.blogspot.com or her webpage: marialoveswords.com
This week's editor is Elizabeth Welsh, an Auckland writer and Katherine Mansfield scholar. Her blog is here. And remember to visit the live blog roll in the Tuesday Poem sidebar for more Tuesday Poems.
The night before, we packedour lunches with anticipationand American cheese sandwiches.
We left at dawn with the sunslithering across the desert,twisting the horizon into slivers of gold.
The drive out to the farmlandwas filled with yawns and coffee.I leaned against my brother and dozed.
On our way we passed farm workers,their painted signs blurring by.I catch one word, strike.
My brother yells, Viva la Razabut don't yet know what it means.He raises his chin and smiles.
In the field the smellof disturbed earth and sweat mingleswith the sound of giggles
from my sister's friends.I stand in between rows,a bucket full of green tomatoes
too heavy to lift, my brothercarrying it to men sittingin precious shade.
We left as soon as the thermometermoved above 100.The others stayed.
This poem is a true account of Maria Garcia Teutsch's short time she spent working in the fields. Maria currently teaches in Salina, California, in the US. This area is commonly known as the 'salad bowl of America' and many of her students have long histories of field work. Plenty of them have parents who make their living in the fields. This poem has emerged from her inspiration and humble appreciation of their daily work. For me, as this weeks editor, I was immediately drawn to this poem of Maria's as it possesses such a strong grounding in the landscape. The social conditions intertwined with the act of 'tomato picking' appears to emanate naturally and effortlessly from this powerful and nostalgic evocation of the journey and the landscape.
Maria Garcia Teutsch is editor-in-chief of Ping Pong Journal of Art and Literature published by the Henry Miller Memorial Library in Big Sur, California. She teaches poetry and creative writing at Hartnell College in Salinas, California. This is also where she edits the Homestead Review which is now in its 10th year of publication.
For more words, visit her blog: mariateutsch.blogspot.com or her webpage: marialoveswords.com
This week's editor is Elizabeth Welsh, an Auckland writer and Katherine Mansfield scholar. Her blog is here. And remember to visit the live blog roll in the Tuesday Poem sidebar for more Tuesday Poems.
