The way corn works
Artist
The Alternative Press
Artist
Dick Sweeney
Datec. 1978
MediumLetterpress on paper
DimensionsPaper Size: 11 × 7 7/8 in. (27.9 × 20 cm)
ClassificationsPrint
Credit LineGift of Gary Eleinko, 2023
Object numberUAC7445.09
DescriptionLetterpress printed poem by Dick Sweeney, titled "The way corn works".The way corn works
you don't have to know
the cornleaf shape
makes a gutter to draw
water in to stalk & roots,
down
from a yard sqaure space of any rain.
You don't have to know
tassels will sift
the making dust on cornsilks below-
soft-
on second ears, third, & past
all it mattersto, on frost.
You don't have to know
stalk
stands long enough, just-
ice taking hold & letting go,
rains, winds, at it-to keep back
a full ear (& most times the best)
until ground below is hard all frozen
season,
until deer & fieldmice, pheasant, & sparrow
have had a plenty & the banner-narrow
leaves hide the future in their history
you don't have to know
Published by The Alternative Press, Issue Number 8.
