When I wrote this passage, I wanted to capture the emotion and the attention to detail that a farmer has when they are tending to their crops. I wanted to show how dedicated and careful farmers are to making sure that only the best crops reach the public. I want the reader to feel the juxtaposition of this man’s joy and sorrow as he focuses on the task with precision and care.

To end the passage on a bit of a cliffhanger, I wrote these lines: “But rueful also…”. Through this phrase, I am hoping to convey the farmer’s bittersweet feeling of uprooting less-than-perfect crops from the land as part of the life cycle of farming.

At the beginning of the passage, I wrote “Down on his hands and knees” to show the farmer’s humility and the arduous task he faces every day. As great effort is put into even the most mundane of tasks, I wrote, “Touching, inspecting, separating one/ Stalk from the other, gently pulling up/ Everything not tapered, frail, and leafless”. All of these words come together to show the precision with which the farmer does his job.

From this passage, I want readers to understand the respect and admiration that should be given to those who work hard in farming communities—not just for the food they provide but for the dedication and passion they have for their craft.

Now that I have told you what this passage means to me, I’d love to hear what you make of it. What other connections can you draw from it? What images does this passage bring to your mind? I’d love to hear about your thoughts!

Without knowing anything else about the context of the text, I would have to say my best guess is that the narrator thinks farming is b) noble. The narrator is described as being “pleased to feel each little weed-root break,” showing a sense of appreciation towards farming, so I believe that they view it as being a noble undertaking. At the same time, they also mention feeling “rueful” which could indicate a certain sense of difficulty or burden associated with farming, but I believe this would be outweighed by the sense of nobility.