By: Kathryn Holeton

From Grain to Fruit

The sweet, fresh air lingers on open fingertips
Gently caressing, gently raising
Giving birth to words from open lips
Bringing in dark clouds laden with rain
Like a captain to his ship-
with the purpose of growing fruit from grain

###

 
The Hook

Fish do not know of a world without water,
until they bite a fishing lure.

###
 
For Those Who Forget

It pays to remember that every victory has a cost
with every step comes greater trials and tribulations
More time, more money, more, more, more- lost
Misleading the vision from origination

For those who forget easily-
Remember that time’s yarn is unraveling quickly,
Everything is worth a golden opportunity,
Nothing can be accomplished safely.

###

 
Black Wires

Electricity hums in wires above the ground
Rust and black colored, hot on a winter day
All the wires lead to the same place,
A concrete plant pumping power around

The water around it contaminated,
Made this way by the energy it generated.

A place where swimming used to be safe
Now too toxic to be considered tame
With the sky humming with black wires,
snow falls, the heaven’s crying.

###

 
Boiling Heat

Long rows of corn and grain reach high
The hot sun burning down on cracked land
Exposed roots form a single line-

A line toward the machine in harvesting hands,
desperate to provide what they’ve sewn,
to care for what they cherish at home,
under the boiling heat.

###

Kathryn Holeton is a poet, author, and native Tennessean. Kathryn is also a vocalist and songwriter. In her free time, she likes to read, drink coffee, and listen to music.