​

​Excerpt from A Dakota Wheat-Field
(by Hamlin Garland)

Like liquid gold the wheat-field lies,
A marvel of yellow and green,
That ripples and runs, that floats and flies,
With the subtle shadows, the change, the sheen
That plays in the golden hair of a girl.
A cloud flies there--
A ripple of amber—a flare
Of light follows after. A swirl
In the hollows like the twinkling feet
Of a fairy waltzer; the colors run
To the westward sun,
Through the deeps of the ripening wheat.

Thomas Hart Benton, Wheat, 1967, oil on wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James A. Mitchell

---

Thomas Hart Benton, Cradling Wheat, 1938. tempera and oil on board. 31 ¼ x 39 ¼ inches. Saint Louis Art Museum