In Lakeview Texas (population
152 and no lake in sight)
bare stalks line harvested cotton
fields in soil colored sienna

surrounding deserted homesteads,
windmills and irrigation pipes
across fields, giant green
tractors on guard, tattered cotton

scraps float along ditches.
Three pickups wait at the door
of the Baptist Church, a
handful gathered for God.

A picture of Jesus hangs
behind the pulpit in a sanctuary
where crowds once gathered
when cotton was picked by hand.