the no answer

you remember
the dust bowl years.
how your farm
dried up
into silt and sand.
the horses
dead on their feet.
the tumbleweed
of souls
heading west.
hats tilted to
block the sun
and dirt winds.
you remember waiting
for rain.
waiting
for the skies to close
and break
with a storm.
you remember
seeing the land
go flat and grey.
your children's eyes
growing large
as their bodies
shrank. staring
at that last can
of peaches.
you remember
being on your knees
and praying
for an answer
and that answer
being no, again
and again.