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The way corn works
The way corn works

The way corn works

Datec. 1978
MediumLetterpress on paper
DimensionsPaper Size: 11 × 7 7/8 in. (27.9 × 20 cm)
ClassificationsPrint
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.
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