Witness

Sara and Esther continue to focus on the farm. They both take rhubarb into town to sell, and Esther enjoys the pleasant jingle of the wagon on the way there. Later, Sara’s cow, Bossie, wanders into a neighbor’s garden, and the neighbor shoots Bossie. When Esther discovers that Bossie is going to be okay, she happily states that, “[…] i do like it better to play with / bossie with the living in her” (77). Ira and Sara take Esther to the circus when it comes to town, and Esther is entranced with the animals and clowns. Later, Sara takes Esther to the fair, where Esther spends her time in the livestock shed asking for the names of the horses, cows, and sheep.

Even though Sara tries to stay out of the Klan’s politics, she remarks that she heard a rumor that the coffin of a slain Klansman caught fire on the way to the cemetery, and she asks, “what do you suppose the lord / was trying to say about that?” (67). In his poem, almost as though his is answering Sara, Johnny insists that it was a bolt of lightning that struck the wagon, signifying God’s displeasure that one of His chosen had fallen.