First of all, this is a poem based on a photo I found in a depression-era book. It shows a man in a saloon with a kitten next to him, in Craigville, MN (which may not be an actual town these days, I'm not quite sure). I love this picture because it says so much. I wrote this a few years back. It is one of my favorite poems that I have written. Here is the link to the picture.



http://www.old-picture.com/scenes-rural-america/002/thumbnails/Craigville-Minnesota-Saturday-thjpg.jpg

Kitten

The topsoil was thick with drought

It can make a desperate man thirsty

Thirsty for rain, thirsty for hope, drink

Craigville, MN in early October

Solace appears like light inside darkness

Rich men come to drink their money away

Farmers come to drink the drought away

On this night, no one understands

The barkeep mops up the remnants of fallen whiskey and vodka

Everyone has left for their homes, but one man takes no hints

His slurred speech has driven all listeners away

Can't they see, he has a reason?

Corn turned to smut and death

Wife turned into ex-wife

Winter is looming like silence at a funeral

October will soon harvest his depleted spirit

Desolate home now plagued with time

No one will call on him

Except for a sympathetic kitten

Who is also thirsty

Nudging his forearm

Saturated with drought