Farmer's Two Sons (For August Wilhelm Carlson, 1864 – 1935)

The two sons who most hated farming
were the ones he took
when he started all over again:
an embittered man, a ne'er do well,
and a dreamer.

It was not bad luck,
but rage and a stubborn disclaimer.
He knew he'd failed
when he looked at the sons he had willed.

You could read the itch
in the way he hitched up his pants
and the way he spit.