270ROCKY MOUNTAIN REVIEW RAISING THE GRAIN I am waiting for the wood to dry before sanding. I have raised the grain with water. Now I must sand it down, raise it again, sand it down, raise it again. Finally the wood will dry smoothly even after wetting. It is slow work waiting. Sanding must be done carefully, each board tested, my finger making sure no stubborn grain is heedlessly passed over. If the wood is not smooth varnish, brushed on after staining, will be rough also. On my workbench, half unheard, the radio plays country-western music. Voices sing of homecomings, homemade wine, remembered eyes. Behind the barn my mare, fat, unshod, rests on three legs. She dozes lazily switching flies, nibbling half-heartedly at the long pasture grass. It has been a dry summer. Now in the late fall days the prairie hay has cured uncut on the stem. It is nourishing but she thinks not tasty. She wrinkles her lips breathing a long sigh, contented, remembering white clover and alpine meadows. JAMES K. FOLSOM ...