| Harriet Monroe, ed. (1860–1936). Poetry: A Magazine of Verse. 1912–22. | | | | Nothin’—Somethin’ | | By Laura Sherry |
| | From “Ridge People”
IT ain’t worth nothin’ as land goes, | |
| And yet it’s somethin’. | |
| Kinda nice— | |
| A hill of boulders | |
| Smilin’ in the sun. | 5 |
| I only took it because ’twas cheap. | |
| I wasn’t one of them | |
| That had the earnin’ guts | |
| To pick and choose. | |
| My girl and I have worked | 10 |
| To coax the crops around these stones. | |
| She was pretty once— | |
| Lord, now her bones stick out | |
| Like ridge-poles in a tent. | |
| I ain’t complainin’. | 15 |
| The land— | |
| She’d say it wasn’t any good | |
| Except to hold the world together. | |
| It’s held her | |
| And me. | 20 | | | |
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