G. Louis Heath Verse-Virtual 2016 June

June 2016

I am a native Californian, a Berkeley Ph.D., who is Professor Emeritus, Ashford University. That basically means that my campus closed and I had to retire at age 71 in May, 2016, after 47 years in higher education. Please excuse the clinging initial G. (for Gary) Louis Heath but I thought it was cool in 1969 when I first published! My books include Mutiny Does Not Happen Lightly, Long Dark River Casino, and Vandals in The Bomb Factory. I love to read my poems at the Midwest Writing Center in Davenport, Iowa and at other open mic events. I serve on the Human Rights Commission of my city, Clinton, Iowa. I love to hike along the Mississippi River where I can sit down, weather permitting, and work on a poem that I have stuffed in my back pocket.

Flying Over Iowa

Flying over Iowa, I am awed by the
grand sweep of the corn and soy,
punctuated by the sturdy homes of
farmers. The cropland unspools infinitely
before my eyes, eyes that lock onto the
crops’ total sovereignty over nature.

These well-cultivated farms take full
command of their space. I find comfort
from the air as I take in the tidy,
geometrically precise quilts sewn
into the prairie soil.

It is the comfort I found at night as a
toddler, taking cover under my own
quilt—the one with dragons jousting
with teddy bears. Safe in that fortress,
I warded off all the dangers lurking in
the unplowed darkness all around.