word has it

Ohio officially ceased

sugar beet production

in 2005

but embedded deeper

than the impress

of a sheaf of wheat

or the Scioto River

flowing beneath

thirteen sun rays

on the state seal

piles of sugar beets

pyramids, mountains,

became synonymous

with the county seat

of Hancock County,

Findlay, Ohio, its very air

redolent with the reek

of mounds aging past

their recommended shelf life

of 120 days, settling into

their roundings like old souls

eclipsing corn as the symbol

of the state better known

for airplanes and astronauts!