Rotten Corn

Put your ears to the ground,
be like the rotten corn,
and you will hear stories
of the rotten corn.

Anthropologists of the present
find scant evidence
of man in the American fields
neither manicuring, nor man-handling.

Hunters aren’t gatherers.
Neither are Tuckers.
They’re too busy on Spring Break
Dawning hats popularized for truckers.

First light appears
Where is Juan?
Where is Darianny?
Have you ever seen an ear weep?
It is unnatural.
Corn ears are sensitive
appendage-vegetables.

“I contain multitudes!”
the corn exclaims
ignoring copyright laws.

But are they wrong?
Beware militarism, Corn.
All those kernels,
could lead to a coup d'etat.
Do not pop into chaos
You will be a husk of yourself.
Rolled spherically to be tossed
Like the cornball you are.

Michael Carney