In the aftermath of winter’s “Snowpocalypse” we are drawn to this sunny August poem about a field of timothy grass seen—and transformed into poetry—by a mother, a daughter, and a speaker observing them both. Poetica derives from a Greek word meaning “make,” and on one level “Hayfield Poetica” tells how poetry made from the raw material of perception is shaped by its maker’s personal history and beliefs.
In Pennsylvania (where this writer grew up) we called the winter’s last big snowstorm the “bough bender” and looked forward to the lighter “onion snow” that augurs spring. For those of you still gripped by cold weather, we hope the onion snow comes soon! In the meantime, here’s a bit of summer’s verdant, lush heat in a poem we hope you will love as much as we did.
HAYFIELD POETICA
1. Pauline’s Poem
Pauline looked out at the timothy hay
and said to her daughter,
“If I wrote a poem. . .”
Molly looked up
and prompted her mother,
“If you wrote a poem . . .”
“It would be about the timothy.”
Late August breeze:
screen door wheezing,
curtains moving on their own.
“THE TIMOTHY CHASES ITSELF TO THE FENCE.”
That’s all?
Now Pauline looked surprised.
Why would anyone need more?
Outside, the ripe
wind-rushed timothy leapt
into the arms of the fence,
caressed by the fence,
stopped by the fence.
“That’s my poem,” she said.
“One line.”
2. Molly’s Poem
“THE RUSHING, THE RUSTLING, THE HEAT.
THE GREEN, THE SILVER, THE FENCE.
THE WHIRLING FROM ROOTS AND THE BEAT
OF THE STALKY LEGS IN THEIR TRANCE.”
The hay was almost like a flock
of cranes taking off, except
the timothy’s legs were forever
anchored in unseen soil
like Pauline, a woman tethered
to the place she was born,
viewing through curtains
the field of long grain,
—same since she was young,
rushing to meet her date,
the crackle of static in her brush
as she sweeps her hair out to its limit.
Molly Peacock
Molly Peacock’s newest book is Alphabetique: 26 Characteristic Fictions, illustrations by Kara Kosaka (McClelland & Stewart). Her latest poetry is The Second Blush (W.W. Norton and Company), and her recent nonfiction is The Paper Garden: Mrs. Delany Begins Her Life’s Work at 72 (Bloomsbury). A former New Yorker and co-creator of Poetry in Motion on the nation’s buses and subways, she now lives in Toronto where she serves as Series Editor of The Best Canadian Poetry. Peacock writes in dual genres, and she is a dual citizen.
(Editor’s Note: As an inaugural gesture, Rebecca Foust, our new Poetry Editor, has prepared a rare and intimate glimpse into the process and prosody of her friend and mentor, Molly Peacock. To see her in-depth analysis of “Hayfield Poetica,” continue to Page 2)
Thank you for sharing this. Molly’s work, as usual, is an inspiration!
Your Mom was very smart.
Molly, you are very smart.
I love short poems.
I’m trying not to use the word ‘very’.
I read Molly Peacock’s poem early this morning.. quickly as I rushed off to church. Now, just before I am off to sleep, I have taken the time to read the poem out loud and carefully attend the class of poetic interpretation provided by our new Poetry Editor, Rebecca Foust. I grew up on a farm with Timothy Hay and women who understood the “utter acceptance of one possible response to limits..to feel embraced” by place of origin. I am so grateful for this late night meditation that will visit me in my dreams. Thank you Molly and Rebecca.