What I remember of 1985 are the round
rock clumps of potatoes. My first job
is a ritual of plastic gloves, a conveyor belt,
and a sacred mountain of starch at the end
of the hangar-like farm outbuilding.
rock clumps of potatoes. My first job
is a ritual of plastic gloves, a conveyor belt,
and a sacred mountain of starch at the end
of the hangar-like farm outbuilding.
We are all women. I’m thirteen,
just old enough to work here. The others
are poor, some are missing teeth,
their eyes wrinkle when they laugh.
They challenge me to potato-cleaning
contests to pass the time until lunch.
Our fingers often catch in the machine.
It stops automatically: we look at each other
in accusation. The guilty woman shrugs,
nurses a pinched thumb or forefinger.
We palm stones and dream of rings,
we hope the clock will click to home.
We rub off clumps of dirt, throw out imposters,
cull out the rotten and the bug-ridden.
Our hands slide over each potato: the thin skin
and the rough. I’m the kid with the bright
yellow gloves. I can’t remember any of their faces.
Hudson Valley Events
submit event
Scott Benedict: Kahnscious
Oct. 27-Jan. 20 — Architect and photographer Scott Benedict takes viewers through a journey across twenty-six...
3rd Fridays Swing Dance-Music by Metropolitan Hot Club
Fri., Jan. 18, 6:30-10 p.m. — Join us for a night of swing dance lessons led by Emily...
Latest in Arts & Culture
Stanley Kubrick's Photos
Unshattered
Chronogram Conversations: Scribner's Lodge
More images of interior and exterior
Nadine Boughton—The Modess Women
The Creative Tenants of Atlas Studios in Newburgh
Birthday Party 2018
Chronogram Conversations 2018
Catskill & Hudson
Woodstock Film Fest
Bop Island Jazz Fest Performers
Rosendale Street Festival
The Amsterdam
Kasuri
NFP Studio in Beacon
The Dutch Ale House
-
Santana to Play Woodstock Festival Anniversary Bethel Woods
- Jan 17, 2019
-
12 Shows We're Binge Watching this Winter
- Jan 16, 2019
-
Winter Watch List: 10 Movies Filmed in the Hudson Valley
- Dec 29, 2018
-
Winter Concert Series Kicks Off in Tannersville
- Jan 8, 2019
-
Lincoln Mayorga to Perform in Spencertown
- Jan 11, 2019
Chronogram on Instagram
@Chronogram
