Poetry: Rodney Jones, 'Sovereign Joy'

Thank you for reading and listening to the Atlantic's 2010 poetry month! Audio: Hear Rodney Jones read "Sovereign Joy" (2:32) Also by Rodney Jones: Cathedral (2008) Channel (2001) Raccoon Time (1999) Plea for Forgiveness (1999) On Pickiness (1996) Two Poems (1996) TV (1995)

originally published Fiction Issue 2005

On the John Deere he felt inaugurated,
freshly minted, risen to eminence.
He could hit the left foot brake, square-
pirouette at the floodgate, and follow
the creekbank back to the barn. He knew
where liveth and when goeth and how
lift harrow and turn governor down.
He had studied paradise--this came close,
making a vow always to live right
and perfect corners he'd cheat by littles
until he went in an oval, round
and round, not seeing everything, but happy,
breaking ground, a farm boy with the Beatles
in his head, a young Baptist dancing.

Rodney Jones's latest collection of poems, Salvation Blues, received the 2007 Kingsley Tufts Prize. He teaches at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.