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Farmhouses

July 5, 2022 17 Comments

By Paul Rousseau

I travel a bucolic two-lane road, daily. There are scattered farmhouses, many unchanged for decades, a few in slow-motion collapse. Nevertheless, most appear operative and allegiant to their agrarian origins—crops in the fields, livestock in the barnyard. At twilight, they illumine like glittering hieroglyphics, then, as darkness deepens, the lights retreat. I marvel at the resolve of the grangers within—the ones whose gnarled hands till the soil—and wonder if they are reading, cooking, laughing, crying, bathing, fucking, sleeping, dying? I lament I will never know, for I am merely a stranger in the margins trying to get home.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tim Goldstone says

    July 5, 2022 at 9:55 am

    Excellent.

    Reply
    • Paul Rousseau says

      July 5, 2022 at 10:20 am

      Thank you so much Tim.

      Reply
  2. Valli Henry-Boldini says

    July 5, 2022 at 12:08 pm

    Nice read… great description… kudos…

    Reply
    • Paul Rousseau says

      July 6, 2022 at 7:03 am

      Thank you so much.

      Reply
  3. Duncan Bourne says

    July 6, 2022 at 8:26 am

    The mood transported me. The observations resonated. Obscure words lessened the impact for me, Paul, but it was still very good.

    Reply
  4. Elizabeth Zahn says

    July 6, 2022 at 8:51 am

    Having recently spent time exploring a rural area, I can see this. Great tone. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Paul Rousseau says

      July 7, 2022 at 5:53 pm

      Thank you very much.

      Reply
  5. Caroline says

    July 6, 2022 at 3:23 pm

    Great description

    Reply
    • Paul Rousseau says

      July 7, 2022 at 5:53 pm

      Thank you so much.

      Reply
  6. Meghashri Dalvi says

    July 7, 2022 at 1:46 am

    Excellent! Can relate very much.

    Reply
    • Paul Rousseau says

      July 7, 2022 at 5:52 pm

      Thank you.

      Reply
  7. Bob says

    July 7, 2022 at 7:06 pm

    Cool how you blend different levels of diction.

    Reply
    • Paul Rousseau says

      July 8, 2022 at 1:14 pm

      Thank you, y’all are good for my ego.

      Reply
  8. David Henson says

    July 9, 2022 at 8:32 am

    Very nice portrayal of an inner resonance with the outer world.

    Reply
    • Paul Rousseau says

      July 10, 2022 at 1:46 pm

      wow, thank you.

      Reply
  9. S. Webb says

    July 12, 2022 at 12:02 pm

    A wordsmith painting a picture!

    Reply
  10. Kelly Louisa Balliu says

    July 16, 2022 at 10:36 am

    Brilliant description. Very deserving of all the positive comments 🙂

    Reply

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