Poetry from the Homestead

Poetry From The Homestead

Poems by Renata Christen

Between 2011-2012, I spent time in Waldo County working alongside other avid young people interested in learning all they could about living off the land sustainably. Chop wood, cook all meals on a Clarion stove, and grow your own food were a few basics. The difficulty of wanting your own land, but not having the capital to attain it easily, is why I’ve since gone on to pursue 9-5 work. Hopefully, I don’t get stuck in the cycle of waiting for retirement before settling into a life connected more directly with nature again.

I.
Helen + Scott:
active hideaways who,
sending transmissions,
from their parallel universe
- in a stone cave harbor,
wearing old flannel,
drinking rosehip tea.

II.
little shelf mushroom,
dehydrate for the winter,
now we will hunt you.

III.
flying grasshoppers
scatter
like quail
 
when startled.

IV.
Dinner at Bob & Kim’s:

avocado, sprouts, jack cheese sandwiches
nostalgia about functional Co-ops: “oh, the variety.
And everyone used them.”
put your money into tangible things: bibbed overalls. a loom.
homegrown blueberry cornbread and cream
tips for kidney and heart health?
little altars everywhere
sheer cotton curtains
no wireless, no cell phones
hand-pump water faucet in house
a tub you wash in, and an outhouse
worldly homes
“Mountain Ladies & Ewe” Walpole, VT knit hats
chimney flow liner bookshelves and jungle plants
millet, oats, a string of chiles and basket of unthreshed seed
“Intention is selfless. It’s not contrived or mental. You’re not showing intention by
rationalizing a personal gain from acting – it’s not an ego thing.
You help the bird out of your greenhouse, and in that moment, you are placed in time.”