Symphony in Farm Country

A poem for late evening

Photo by Philippe Bout on Unsplash

Chirping of crickets, pizzicato,
Plaintive in the grass;
Distant, raucous lowing,
Diminished sevenths of restless cows;
And a continuo of cicadas
But in percussion, some instrument
Jingling interminably on a single note,
Minimalism in forte;
Crescendo of a farm truck, deep bass
Vibrations of earth and rubber,
Never rising above
F clef, fading into the night.
In its wake, the little tambourine notes
Return, as the cicadas never left off,
Never, never left off,
Never left off.
The crickets slow as night deepens;
The cows thankfully fall quiet.
We hold applause till dawn.
Silence, the greatest praise.