D-9 CATERPILLAR

by Stephen Barile

The dust hangs in the air 

A long time, 

For this is a dusty time, 

A drought year, 

After the blunt-nosed track machine 

Laying a path, 

Rolling over it, picking it up; 

One motor for both tracks 

Geared together, 

Pulling a plow grown shiny. 

Hard to overspeed, 

Pulling forward, running 

Up to full speed, 

Full-time, non-stop production. 

Cutting the ground, 

Slicing to the right. 

A harrow follows behind 

With long steel-tines, 

And earth lays smooth. 

Exhaust from the tractor putters 

Puffs of smoke skyward. 

Three dollars a day wages 

For the driver in the iron seat 

Who becomes part of the machine, 

On a straight-line course 

In the Tulare Lake bottom. 

A tenant man running back

On the 1955 D-9 Caterpillar tractor, 

286 horsepower, 25 tons 

Operating weight, equal 

To the drawbar force. 

One involuntary muscle contraction 

Could swerve the 37,000-pound dozer. 

The power never stops, 

Until the operator throws 

The kill-switch  

At the head of the row, 

The ten-hour shift has ended.