"The Farm When I Was Five" by Grace Butcher
The most magic thing
was the pump in the backyard.
And a dipper to drink from.
For a long time the pump
was as tall as I was
and I used to make it do its magic
even when I wasn’t thirsty.
The sound of the water
coming up from a dark somewhere
was a hollow roaring noise
that broke suddenly loose
and splashed a crystalline miracle
on the darkening cement.
Grandma always said,
“Stop wasting the water!”
I didn’t waste it, Grandma.
There is this poem.
“The Farm When I Was Five” by Grace Butcher from Before I Go Out on the Road. Cleveland State Poetry Center 1979. Used with permission of the author.
Grace Butcher is the author of six books of poetry, including Grace Butcher: Greatest Hits 1965-2000, and Child, House, World, for which she was awarded the Ohio Poet of the Year 1992. A professor emerita from the Kent State University-Geauga campus where she taught English for 25 years, Butcher is a lifelong runner, horsewoman, and actress.