Sonnet to Heal a Fractured Knee and other works by Eero Ruuttila

 

Eero Ruuttila is the Farm manager for Nesenkeag Farm, a 65 acre, certified organic farm on the banks of the Merrimack River in Litchfield, NH. Eero has won recognition for pioneering bio-intensive sustainable methods and is a well-known speaker at organic farming conferences throughout the Northeast region. His innovative work with field pea and oats, vetch and rye, to promote healthy soil, is renown. He is a poet and photographer as well.

 

Semina Blues

A persistence of the past in the present
coffee stains on unwashed linen
old sutured bones, the glow of sepia ink
uncut grass, fields of thick pollen & ruined buildings
transparent nudes in Mississippi.

a bitter tasting bone is found passing a black cat through golden teeth
striking a match, acid kiss of burnt orange,
a bit of showmanship in the rounded sweetness of honey.

all of them all wild as them,
she said, "Meet me tonight in the cornfield
(creaking & rustling cornstalks)
the Jupiter of the Southwest sinks below Venus

it was the last nail
it's always like that, before the fall
new graveyard voices lifting crossroads gravel.

 

Sonnet to Heal a Fractured Knee

It cannot always demand to be put to use
time,
roullez-vous les bon temps
one thought of the many
to roll while punches land
a Punch & Judy show on the grassy banks of the Seine
if I can't show up in person I'll play it back for
memory
the will over comfort, dusty shades are drawn
& my big black gothic toe wiggles to & fro
& my stitched knee remains locked down at Ground Zero
Frida Kahlo had her braces; I've got mine
fake rice paper styles drawer
what paintbrush will my laptop splash across?