Emmitt‘s dream to build a family business
was proceeded by seven harsh winters on the ranch.
The pressure he felt to provide for his family was self-imposed, maybe inherited.
Sale of equipment, all but the tractor, funded his notion.
He was a good man with good intentions.
Leaving their only car at home for his wife and kids
He drove his tractor to work, parked it out back,
Monday through Saturday for fifteen years, this suited him.
While on his daily passage he studied, noting the changes in his surroundings.
In the distance, he saw new highways with ramps and four story buildings.
In the mailbox, college acceptance letters for his kids.
Realizing his dream was not theirs,
Emmitt closed the business before they closed him.
Forever a rancher, in his heart.
Clerestory Poetry Journal 