Sunday, September 4, 2011

Mother Nature is a Bitch



Mother Nature is a Bitch

First it didn't rain
Not a drop for months
Nary a cloud to filter the sun
The earth parched
Crops withered.

The earth was fired like ceramic
Even the seed drill could not pierce
When the first drop fell it bounced
Every drop of rain rolling 
Across the crust.

Prayers it would rain
Changed to prayers it would stop
That the creek would not rise
The levees not break
All unheeded by the gods.

From the upstairs windows
They watched the fields turn to seas
The tractor float like a boat
The silo tobble
Before the bass boat came.

Eventually the rains stopped
The waters receded
Sun dried the river silt into tiles
Turning farm equipment
To entrenched monuments.

The rusting truck a marker
To dashed hopes
And cherished dreams
The family farm abandoned
To Mother Nature.

Jacqui Binford Bell
September 2011

Visit Magpie tales for more participants in Mag 81 poetry rally.

Lots of comments below have mentioned that I have captured the cruelty of farming. We had a farm when I was very young. Later my father introduced me to many ranchers. And as an adult I was married to the son of a farmer in Kansas. It was from him I got the phrase - Mother Nature is a Bitch. And it seems of late that even those that don't live in farms - residents of the gulf and the east coast, forest areas of Arizona and New Mexico, grasslands of Texas, flood plains of the Mississippi - are constantly seeing proof of the same.

I dedicate this poem to all that have watched the waters rise, the flames rush closer, the winds crest, the tidal wall breached.
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33 comments:

  1. moondustwriterSeptember 4, 2011 at 4:42 PM

    I felt similarly when I viewed this prompt - after the recent storm it's fitting

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  2. The Blog of BeeSeptember 4, 2011 at 5:07 PM

    What a brilliant piece of writing Jacqui.

    It's all good but

    "Turning farm equipment
    To entrenched monuments"

    really took my breath away

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  3. Maxwell Mead Williams Robinson BarrySeptember 4, 2011 at 7:49 PM

    frank, powerful, sad.
    well done.

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  4. ReflectionsSeptember 4, 2011 at 9:19 PM

    Fabulous piece of writing. I could feel the parched air... then to see the seas across the land, tractors becoming boats. Terrified watching it all wash away.

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  5. JinksySeptember 5, 2011 at 3:36 AM

    Water - blessing or curse... The lack of it is worst of all to a thirsty man.

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  6. Marbles in My PocketSeptember 5, 2011 at 5:01 AM

    Excellent write! She does indeed tend to have her way and sway over our lives.

    My entry: http://charleslmashburn.wordpress.com/2011/09/04/blood-on-the-moon-2/

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  7. Brian MillerSeptember 5, 2011 at 5:32 AM

    sad...we need water when we dont have it, and want to get rid of it when we do...nature does not seem to underastand moderation...and the loss of the fam home or farm...truly sad...

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  8. Tess KincaidSeptember 5, 2011 at 5:37 AM

    Mother Nature does have her way with us...

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  9. jabblogSeptember 5, 2011 at 5:50 AM

    Nature is not always balanced or fair. 'A little more than a little is by much too much' as the Bard has it.

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  10. AnonymousSeptember 5, 2011 at 11:09 AM

    good one jacqui! here's my entry.. http://fiveloaf.wordpress.com/2011/08/30/a-roar-to-mankind/

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  11. Ann LeFloreSeptember 5, 2011 at 12:26 PM

    Such an amazing piece and such a good write happy gooseberry day
    http://gatelesspassage.com/2011/09/04/haggle-baggily/

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  12. HelenSeptember 5, 2011 at 1:49 PM

    So many farms gone ... sad. Flooding and Mother Nature just the tip of the iceberg.

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  13. MehlynnSeptember 5, 2011 at 2:58 PM

    rural life totally shows who is in control, definitely not men :) I enjoyed this read!

    Happy gooseberry day!
    http://lynnaima.wordpress.com/2011/08/31/chamfering/

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  14. Tumblewords:September 6, 2011 at 8:54 PM

    A terrific reminder that we are not in control.

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  15. IntelliblogSeptember 7, 2011 at 2:09 AM

    Powerful statement of what unfortunately is becoming a more frequently observed occurrence. So many lives utterly ruined by our capricious climate...
    Good one, Jacqui!

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  16. The Orange TreeSeptember 7, 2011 at 12:17 PM

    powerful ...

    Happy Rally.

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  17. AnonymousSeptember 7, 2011 at 1:11 PM

    Shit! I wrote a really nice long comment putting all my 'intellectual' things on work and then bang! the connect failed. Now, I'm bored. Nonetheless, I liked the nuances behind this poem. Very nice! :)

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  18. Jack Edwards PoetrySeptember 7, 2011 at 2:06 PM

    Stunning piece of writing!

    Here is my entry:
    http://jackedwardspoetry.blogspot.com/2011/09/scribbles.html

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  19. Chronicles of IllusionsSeptember 7, 2011 at 4:03 PM

    A powerful comment on rural life :)

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  20. AnonymousSeptember 7, 2011 at 11:33 PM

    your first line took me aback until i read some more... cool write! my entry.. http://fiveloaf.wordpress.com/2011/01/30/lines/

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  21. Ann LeFloreSeptember 8, 2011 at 8:04 AM

    Very powerful write on life hope to read a lot more of your work in the weeks to come. Love this

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  22. Rosie GanSeptember 8, 2011 at 8:29 AM

    It does get frightening when Mother Nature lashes back at us. A farmer's life is hard, you put that across so vividly.
    Rosie

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  23. The Noiseless cuckooclockSeptember 8, 2011 at 10:02 AM

    nature goes angry at time with tornado, earthquakes.

    life has its own cycles, we have faith because spring always comes after winter.

    beautiful insights here.

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  24. Lucy WestenraSeptember 8, 2011 at 11:21 AM

    One wonders how Plains farmers put up with it. At least our climate in England is predictably unpredictable.
    Your poem calls to mind Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath."

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  25. MaggieSeptember 8, 2011 at 12:56 PM

    We are at her mercy.

    Living in the Midwest, farming is still so important and it is such a gamble.

    This was an intense and true write.

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  26. Miss KittenSeptember 8, 2011 at 12:57 PM

    Puts me to mind of a song by Swedish singer Andi Almqvist, called "Mother Nature."

    A recurring line is "Mother nature is a cruel bitch, baby!"

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN_ictbcOLs

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  27. ShonEjaiSeptember 8, 2011 at 7:01 PM

    A wonderful poem! It eloquently highlight the power of Mother Nature.

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  28. AnonymousSeptember 9, 2011 at 12:54 AM

    Can't really say anything that hasn't already been said. Beautiful and poignant poem, goes great with the picture and also brings up an important issue! Well done!

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  29. AnonymousSeptember 9, 2011 at 3:54 AM

    yeah mother nature is truly a bitch nowadays. but us humans put it upon ourselves. we polluted the air, cut down trees, destroyed the ozone and a lot of other shit like that. so i think it is us to blame for mother nature's bitchyness. nice poem.

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  30. hyperCRYPTICalSeptember 9, 2011 at 2:06 PM

    Powerful observation of the whims of nature.

    Anna :o]

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  31. William LeedSeptember 9, 2011 at 2:52 PM

    You have certainly captured the frustration often felt when our livelihood depends on the weather.
    Great entry.
    William

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  32. AnonymousSeptember 10, 2011 at 6:17 PM

    Geesh! Another diamond in our coal heap of poetry :-) thank you.
    ZQ

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  33. AnonymousSeptember 11, 2011 at 10:37 AM

    Nicely done! It shows how little and powerless humans are in the face of nature.

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I appreciate all kind comments on my art and poetry.

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