Jake's Flea Market

for these
and for all those who have
no plow
and no anvil over which to bend
a plow into being

no seed
and no burgage1 over which
to spread seed

no meadow
and no swine to shepherd
into the meadow

for all those who wait
and in their wait make
the square drunk and quarrelsome
lewd and a fright

wait for the roads to thaw
and for the thawed roads to dry

wait to watch a plow cross
a selion2 pulled by an ox

wait for the winter cloak to be hung
and for the grass to green

who wait for the bloom to blow
off the branch   and for the apricot to ripen

to see a robin   wait
for there to come an end of winter

for there to come a war to go to

for all these
under what you’ve already written
in your scroll   write
we the undersigned


1 In a medieval context, a "burgage" refers to a tenure, or holding of land, within a borough or town, typically involving a fixed rent or other services to a lord or the crown. AI


2 A "selion" is a historical term referring to a narrow strip or ridge of land used for cultivation in the open-field system of medieval Europe. It was typically one furlong long and one chain wide, making it roughly one acre in area, though exact measurements could vary.