Acequias
by Bob Moore
In summer we don’t wait for rain to fall.
We work as we are able in the heat.
By now, we’ve cut the last of the winter wheat,
leave crowns as cover to preserve the soil.
No-till techniques are used to seed the clay.
A network of canals can meet our needs
for water from surrounding hills. It feeds
the sweet corn, squash and beans, the summer hay.
By fall we let dust settle on the plows.
And when the land is still as it is now,
the mountains work to gather virgin snow.
They store what will pour from them when it flows.
We farm as we are able when it’s warm,
and grateful for another winter storm.
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