Red Steagall: New and Selected Poems

A Dusty Cotton Field

-09A Dusty Cotton Field I often thought of leaving home When I was ’bout half grown. Saddle up my trusty steed; Head out for parts unknown. An eighty-acre cotton farm Was not my cup of tea. I dreamed of working cattle On the open grassy sea. But something always held me there. I think I understood That it would break my mama’s heart If I took off for good. And tho’ I hated cotton fields And dust and balky mules, I also knew my daddy had An ironclad set of rules. “If you don’t work then you don’t eat,” Was what my daddy said. I often thought he’s kiddin’, But I’se craving beans and bread. I didn’t buck the badger On a gamble he was right. I figured I would starve to death In case I lost the fight. And now that I am older I look back on all those years. I realize that it was more than Just my mama’s tears -10That took away my wanderlust And made me stay at home. It wasn’t daddy’s ironclad rules That killed my urge to roam. Was all that love they gave me. It was all that time they spent To make sure I had all the tools So I could make a dent In a world that I would call my own When they won’t be around. That’s why I’m able now to plant And plow unbroken ground. Tho’ I’ve become a cowboy And my dreams are truly real, I know I learned to hold my own In dusty cotton fields. I know that mama’s tender love And daddy’s firm, strong hand Have molded me and made me Be a better, stronger man. I wouldn’t trade that cotton field For satchels full of gold. I wouldn’t trade a balky mule For jewels and wealth untold. ’Cause all the things I learned from them Are keeping me on track; But I don’t miss the heat and dust And I ain’t goin’ back. 1999 ...