The Land, The Death, The Family
Fig. 1 — The Home Where It All Started
Random trees and tall grass infiltrate the structure. White crackled paint and a brown roof. Here is where
my great-grandmother choked on a piece of cantaloupe and died.
Fig. 2 — A Small Corn Field and Boxes of Honey Bees
Across the highway is where we spent Thanksgiving, on the dot at noon. The land the center of the family’s farming and cow fields and pig pens. My great-uncle always gave us husks of corn and later jars of honey. Keeping bees was his new venture, the corn and tending to the pigs a tradition. He took us in his truck to see the donkeys in the fields behind his house, my last memory before his Alzheimer’s took control.
Fig. 3 — The Barn That Held the Hay
Straight across the house is the barn. The hay the most reliable crop, where it was baled right next to the house. The hay barn was near the pig pen, where they would squeal, waiting to get the day’s compost and leftovers to eat. The quiet brother took care of the hay and the money that was made. In the end the hay was karma. He was alone when a bale fell, suffocating him for the money he stole that belonged to all the family.
Fig. 4 — The Small Grapevine
A mile down the road is my grandparent’s house. It sits down the hill, behind a field of hay. The vegetable garden used to be full of okra, tomatoes, and strawberries. The one trellis for grapes empty in an almost dirt patch. My brother as a toddler rode around on his John Deere tractor toy, picking strawberries with my grandma. It was the last crop grown. The grapevine all dried up, the remaining bottled up for the church’s foot-washing ceremony. The manual till of the land too much on my grandma’s back. My grandpa’s actions a risk to injure himself, his bad fall put him in the bed, his body and his diseased brain never to leave again.
Fig. 5 — The Chimney
Almost home, I give my usual glance to the abandoned home, where it all started. It’s gone. The bricks the only remnants.
Caleigh Shaw is a poet from Canton, Georgia. She is currently an MFA candidate at Oklahoma State University, where she is an Editorial Assistant at the Cimarron Review. She received her BA in Writing & Linguistics from Georgia Southern University and is the 2015 Brannen Creative Writing, Nonfiction Award winner. Her work has appeared in 8 Poems. When she’s not working or writing, you may find her watching historical dramas or reality tv shows and snuggling with her cat. You can find her on social media @caleighcal14.