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V. the farmer takes a wife

The first rule of husbandry is abstinence.

She learned as she put down roots

to refrain from luxury, from waste

to let alone her urges toward abandon.

Use it all, her mother said, and invited

the scavengers to glean the virgin fields.

Her wedding feast runs late. At the end

there is more food than when it was begun.

She weeps tears of blood but does not eat

though her husband tells her it will rot.

Mulch, she says. The earth will eat from it.

his seed is red in his realm's dark light

she has learned not to waste

so she swallows it down.