Jack Yesner Week 1- "Cornfields" by Anna Leahy

 The poem “Cornfields” by Anna Leahy transports the reader to a different place: the small farm in rural Illinois. Leahy describes life on the farm, including the sights, feelings, and tasks. She does not attempt to glamorize nor disparage the farm, merely stating the experience in a list of sensations. However, despite the laborious chores a farmer must complete, Leahy notes the experience is positive due to the world around her. Leahy makes it clear that though there are negatives in life, “any place on earth can be lovely” if one takes a closer look at their remarkable surroundings.

Leahy’s message is made clear through her unique writing style which evokes a sense of longing and nostalgia. Her picturesque description of “ever-even stalks” that glisten in the “late July” sun make the reader desire to travel to this farm, even if they have never been to a farm before. Additionally, she uses simple language throughout the poem, which serves two purposes. First, it exhibits the simplicity of the farm which makes the reader long to live there. But second, and most importantly, it reduces the complexity of life to smaller terms. By focusing on simple, individual sights, one can forget the difficulties of life and appreciate where they are. This is how any place can be “lovely”.

The values that Leahy expresses in “Cornfields” should be applied to everyday life to foster a greater sense of appreciation for one’s surroundings. Instead of lamenting your boring school class, take a look around and simplify the world. See the birds and squirrels underneath the bright, clear sky, watch the people move through the hallways, and recognize that even the most seemingly mundane locations can be a lovely, comforting cornfield.

I believe any place on earth can be

lovely: Illinois soy bean and cornfields,

the ever-even stalks lined in their rows

in late July, still moist but golden.

Detassling is hard work that I bore for

just a day, my skin raging red with itch,

but even that memory does not dissuade:

a steady horizon is a comfort.

There exist reasons enough to stay:

not just big shoulders, railroads, but the whole

length of this blue-and-red state, its halved breadth,

our families settled in its belly.

There exist reasons enough to leave:

I am 42, full grown and brawling.