The Pump

There was always a lizard Or a frog around the pump, Waiting for a little extra water Or a butterfly to light. Jimmy said the pump gave him the worms. I got the worms under the slick boards. The pump would bite you in the winter. It got hold of Jimmy and wouldn’t let go. The blades of Johnson grass were tall And sharp around the pump stand. I had to hoe them all the time Nobody filled the prime jar, though. One time, I cut the tongue Out of a Buster Brown shoe And gave it to the pump. It made a good sucker washer. Sometimes the pump seemed like Jesus. I liked bathing buck naked Under the pump, Not in a goddamn washtub.