Not every handful feeds you Some just show you how the dirt works I walked the rows at first light Pockets heavy, no map in mind Just scatterin’ into the furrows Let the ground decide the time Some sank deep, some stayed shallow Some got taken before they slept Didn’t stop to name the losses I just kept steppin’ left You don’t mark what never shows When you’re early in the year You trust the work of open hands And whatever sticks from here You plant a hundred seeds in spring Just to see what dares to rise Some won’t break the surface Some show green, then lose the fight You hold the few that stay upright Like that’s all you need to know But the field remembers every seed You let go Green came up too close together Every stalk reachin’ for the same sky Had to pull some strong ones early Just so one could finish right That don’t feel like doin’ right Feels like wastin’ somethin’ sound But the field don’t take opinions It just answers what you allow There’s a line between more and enough Most folks miss it ‘til it’s gone Crowded roots don’t feed a harvest They just prove you waited too long You plant a hundred seeds too close Every one reachin’ for the same sun You pull a few with steady hands So one can finish what’s begun You don’t toast the ones you thin out Or the nights you second-guess You just learn the weight of leaving some For the rest I used to think it came from wantin’ Or a good hand now and then Turns out it’s mostly stayin’ put After losin’ more than you planned Every field keeps its own record No names, no second chance You don’t get paid for hopin’ You get paid for what still stands Now I plant a little slower Leave some rows alone on purpose Silence feeds the ground better Than another man’s advice I don’t curse the bare spots anymore They’re part of how it goes Fruit don’t mean I figured it out Just means I didn’t go I planted a hundred seeds again Most of ’em never stayed That ain’t failure, that’s the ground Answerin’ the way it’s made You can praise the fruit that fed you Say it proves you knew the way But it all comes back to plantin’ And stayin’ anyway Everybody loves the harvest Nobody sings about the seeds
