The Gleaning

Motor-oil stains the hands of a blue-collar man.

Hands, done digging in dirt for the day,

rub the top of my tassels

once as golden as the grain

that flakes off my father's skin in the summer season.

Now, just oil-stained locks

that frame a small, mud-pie face

and eyes that glean the same small pleasures

at the end of each day:

the stains,

the dirt,

the gold.

copyright 2004 Brian Bingham

published November 2004, Writer's Bloc Lit/Art Magazine

#poetry #farming #family