Contributor Series 10: Silken Rags
Fine Southern Farm Girls
By Nicole Yurcaba
We were the kind of young women
who came home from a hard day’s work on the farm
covered in tractor grease halfway up our arms,
our biceps well toned from ten-hour days of pitchin’ bales,
unashamed of the field dirt beneath our short nails.
We were the kind of young women
who chose a date with a John Deere over a date with a John Doe,
and we didn’t know much about doin’ our hair,
but we could work five hundred head of cattle out in the fields,
makin’ all the men stop short on their heels,
sayin’ “Well, won’t you look there?”
And they would eye us in our cut-off flannel shirts,
our denim Wranglers stained with engine oil with ground-in dirt,
knowing we weren’t the kind who dressed up in
black high heels and ultra mini skirts.
We were the kind of young women
who gave a whole new meaning to “country”–
wearing cut-off shorts with Laredo cowboy boots,
who could smoke cigars, chew Southern Pride, and shoot guns, Jack Daniels whiskey and pool.
We were the kind of young women
who were proud not to be the type of women
that today’s society preferred–blonde, sized zero, no brains at all.
We were just fine Southern farm girls,
well muscled, pure country … and unashamedly raw.
Nicole Yurcaba’s most recent poem to appear here was Observations of a Backwoods Feminist (May 2011), a 2011 vox poetica nominee for Best of the Net.
Wonderful.
Nicky, you have always put charisma in the poems you write. Here you have drawn a slice of life that much of the country never knew existed, and a smaller part of the country thought was normal. Excellent accomplishment!
Nicky, beautiful as always.
This was a delightful read for me. I know others will feel the same. A way of being that a city girl can’t even imagine.
A great visual experience…
Thank you again!