today my youngest son
followed my instructions
and listened
with the hot sun blaring down
insects wailing
in bright green trees 
greasing the orange Kubota
thousands of dollars
equipment of my landlord’s
that I use daily 
to make sure his farm
keeps running 
even though his vision isn’t

he sat in a brown folding chair
under the shade of the barn
watching my son and I talk
 I wondered what he was thinking

a father who wished
to go back 
and do more than he did
or a tired old man
thankful that someone
a younger
took up a thankless 
backbreaking mantle
that his family 
avoided