It’s the way the farmer bends
toward the scythe
in Van Gogh’s drawing
and the gleaners in Millet’s painting
bend in the fields
the way my father stooped over
the wooden board that was his table
to stretch the pelts to ply his trade
or the carpet weavers over their yarn
or the waitress leaning over
to place dinner before me
and the way the poet hunches over
a notebook, each working
to earn a place on this earth
leaning toward,
embracing,
bowing before
what needs to be done.
— from Juniper Volume 7, Issue 1