Poetry Analysis

Timeless Farmer, Walt Curlee 

The Farmer

W. D. Ehrhart

Each day I go into the fields

to see what is growing

and what remains to be done.

It is always the same thing: nothing

is growing, everything needs to be

     done.

Plow, harrow, disc, water, pray

till my bones ache and hands rub

blood-raw with honest labor—

all that grows in the slow

intransigent intensity of need.

I have sown my seed on soil

guaranteed by poverty to fail.

But I don’t complain—except

to passerby who ask me why

I work such barren earth.

They would not understand me

if I stooped to lift a rock

and hold it like a child, or laughed,

or told them it is their poverty

I labor to relieve. For them,

I complain. A farmer of dreams

knows how to pretend. A farmer of

     dreams

knows what it means to be patient.

Each day I go into the fields.

I chose to highlight this poem by W. D. Ehrhart because of its obvious farming theme.  It is written in free verse, meaning that its meter is inconsistent and it does not rhyme. It is clear to see that this poem is about farming and agriculture, yes, but it is also not an idealized poem and cannot be considered a pastoral.

Pastoral poetry was created to glorify farm life. The langue used is idealized and far removed from realism, which is the kind of idea that this piece addresses. The difference between idealism and realism is that realism often provokes the feeling one gets in their gut once they realize the kind of grief human beings go through to create better lives for themselves. In this particular instance, realism is shown through language as the speaker talks about what it is that he does for the community. I think that’s what hit me the most about this poem. It glorifies farming in a quiet, humble way, and in that way, this poem is the farmer. 

I appreciate the subtle mention of the existence of God in this poem. It isn’t over-the-top or in your face, but it is very telling of who the farmer is. For centuries, farmers have been God-fearing, and it is important that this does not get lost in the mix of political correctness. It is always refreshing to read a non-religious piece that has a religious undertone. 

The religious aspect of this poem, where the author says that he prays, is so telling of the person that he is. It is mentioned throughout the rest of the poem, but he turns the idea on its head when he starts discussing the way others view him. He says, “They would not understand me, if I stooped to lift a rock and hold it like a child, or laughed, or told them it is their povertyI labor to relieve.” The reader can tell that this man has a relationship with a higher power, God, because he makes a metaphor out of himself. I have never thought of the God-like qualities of the farmer before, but this poem has opened my mind to this fantastic idea. Farmers labor for their communities. Farmers make things grow from the soil. It is a beautiful idea to think of them in this way because not only does it make sense, but it is so telling of what the farmer has stood for for so many years. Typically Christian, farmers are honest and their trade depends on the way they serve others. “A farmer of dreams knows what it is to be patient. Each day I go into the fields.” Farmers are patient with their crops the way God is patient with us. It is almost as if Ehrhart is putting the farmer on the same pedestal that God is on, and that really moves me.