Our brain longs for story connecting us to the familiar even as a story’s particulars surprise us. And we delight in making meaning (not having meaning made for us). I’m hoping “The Lord’s Country” satisfies these elements. Most folks know about the 1930’s American “dustbowl,” thus we are engaged in the dramatic particulars of that experience. What does this all mean?  You do that work. Also, there’s sound. Hopefully, this poem grunts and groans, not sings.

Steve Rose’s poetry has appeared in numerous publications including The Midwest Quarterly, So It Goes, The Journal of Medical Literature, Conestoga Zen, Dime Bag of Poetry and The Nebraska Writers’ Guild Anthology. He has published two books of poetry, Hard Papas in 2014 and Nebraska and Other States in 2017.