Granddad came over last month
and planted cabbage, yellow squash,
peppers, and okra
in the little square of dirt
my daddy marked.
Me and Charlie
tried to tell him
we don’t like cabbage
or yellow squash or peppers.
We didn’t mention the okra,
on account of Gran’s fried okra,
which is the best fried okra
you’ve ever tasted.
Granddad said those are
the only vegetables
that will grow in a Texas garden
this time of year.
He said, You never know
when you’ll need
something to eat,
and he just kept digging
with his pale, spotted hands.
things like that
all the time.
Mama says he lived
through the Great Depression,
back when a whole lot of people
went hungry.
I watched him
the whole time he planted.
He looked a lot
like my daddy,
long legs folded up,
head bent so I couldn’t see
the white of his hair,
overalls pulled tight
across his back.
He touched the earth
like it was alive.