The Riding Mower and Economics

Every resident now owns a riding mower, and

Keeps the grass gracing their plot of land

Trimmed down into the earth’s scalp.

Riding the mower is a special treat.

I see old men, women, children

Being thrilled by John Deere’s vibrations.

Not only their own plot do they mow,

But they yield to the weekly temptation

Of extending their yard’s empire foot by foot.

Before the riding mower, in push-mower days

There was little pleasure in the cutting.

Now the work-pleasure ledger is reversed.

--Septmeber 2, 2013