The Distances

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Wheat farm, Walla Walla, Washington: photo by Russell Lee, July 1941

In the false-dawn twilight the distances appeared limitless
to the lost rider,
who crossed the field alone, and at the other side paused
to examine the vast sky. Time passed. There were people

gathering, milling in mute groups at the edge of the field,
small, silent. They came up
over the horizon, then fell back. Were there, then not there,
and now here. The rider, remembering

the poem of Sepehri, enquired of a passer-by:
Where is the house of my friend?
But the only answer was the wind
whispering through the empty wheatfield.

Wheat land, Walla Walla, Washington: photo by Russell Lee, July 1941



Wheat farm, Walla Walla, Washington: photo by Russell Lee, July 1941



Wheat farm, Walla Walla, Washington: photo by Russell Lee, July 1941

Photos from Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Collection, Library of Congress