Army Worms

This summer was a trying one in terms of growing grass
To feed our hungry cows
Because our normal rains came early and heavy so
The Spring was good but
Quickly fizzled into dried stems and dust until
By the end of August we were
Scrambling for pasture and there was no hay to be
Found for a reasonable price
Anywhere within a few hundred miles which meant
The freight alone made it too high.

September came and we received enough of the precious
Moisture from the sky to get
Some late growth on the summer grasses and to give a
Start to the winter ryegrass which
Is a necessary part of the annual cycle of grasses that
Grow in our area and our
Optimism had returned that perhaps we would get by
And there would be enough
Late forage grown that the demand for hay would ease
And we might be able to buy.

Then came the invading host like a Biblical plague
And within a day the hatch
Became a seething horde which swept the landscape bare
Except for gray, leafless stems
Where the promise had stood the day before giving
Hope for a year, redeemed by
The late summer rains which finally fell upon the parched
And weary land that thirsted
For so long, but now had once again fallen to an army
Of wriggling worms already gone.