The Heron's Nest

Editors' Choices

The Heron's Nest Award

There is so much to find and contemplate in Mimi Ahern's "October hayride." If you never experienced a farmland hayride as a child or teenager, you missed one of the most pleasurable, sometimes even thrilling adventures to be had. I grew up in a rural town in South Georgia, which was surrounded by farms, including my family's. Most of my classmates lived on farms. It seemed that, in the autumn, hayrides just happened. "Daddy's taking us on a hayride tonight! Y'all come on out!" There might be a big truck, or a wagon pulled by a tractor. The hay might be in bales, or there could be piles of loose hay or straw spread around the truck bed. When we were small, being with our friends, rolling slowly around the countryside under an almost-Halloween moon was all that mattered. We rode over dirt roads bumpy with ruts and dried rain pockets, across pastures and fields and furrow slices, over the hard, rocky clay of pond dams, shrieking and laughing as we jolted, bumped, swayed, and rattled along.

When I participated in my last one at age sixteen in the company of other teens, the overall mood was a bit different from those earlier outings. Some of us were couples as girlfriend and boyfriend, seeing the journey as an opportunity to snuggle, while others were just along for the ride—or possibly looking for love. It was a beautiful clear night, soft with moonlight, and the truck bed was piled with loose, soft hay. The air was crisp, and cold enough for sweaters and jackets. I inhaled the familiar farm smells of diesel fuel, the sweet and somewhat dusty scent of alfalfa hay, and the somehow always present fragrance of cow patties. Added to those were the mingled scents of Aqua Velva and Chanel No. 5. As you can imagine, the air fairly crackled with hormones.

All the above expands upon the haiku's first line, "October hayride." The juxtaposition of that image with the compelling phrase "the wobbly sound / of his harmonica" creates a doorway inviting the reader to enter and discover what else the poem may hold. The core of Ahern's haiku is within this juxtaposition. Often, we do not find the full significance of a haiku in what its words tell us, but in what they do not tell us. A discerning reader will soon realize the possibilities that lie between the lines. This haiku's concise concrete imagery shows me the obvious: there is a hayride happening sometime in the month of October, a male participant is playing the harmonica, and that harmonica sounds "wobbly." With the first line as the setting, the focus of the haiku is the harmonica's sound; yet the poem does not say what is causing the harmonica to sound wobbly. The words do not tell me how old the participants are or what kind of vehicle is carrying them. Drawing from my own experiences, I will imagine this hayride as one for young people riding in a large truck bed.

Although I am familiar with harmonica music, I have never been on a hayride with a person playing one, but I do know what harmonica playing involves. This young man performs by placing his lips over the instrument's small holes and inhaling or exhaling to produce sound. Each hole has a reed. By moving his lips from one hole to another, he produces different notes. Changing the shape of his mouth while inhaling or exhaling changes the speed at which a reed vibrates and changes the pitch of the note.

I consider what can be causing the wobbly sound of this performer's harmonica. My first thought goes directly to the movement of the truck. The rural terrain makes it impossible for the ride to be continually smooth, and this surely affects the player's lip movements on the harmonica as well as his breathing. Every thump and bounce and sway will put a wobble in the music. Other possibilities come to mind. Is he standing or sitting? He might be jostled more if standing. Perhaps he's nervous and working up the courage to stop playing and sit beside one of the young ladies. Emotions can affect breathing and energy. If he is already sitting beside a girl, maybe he wants to put his arm around her, maybe even kiss her. And maybe she's ignoring him. He could be feeling wobbly inside and out! Whatever the reasons for the sound's wobbliness, I find myself wishing I were on that hayride—as my young self, of course. I would find out what's going on and might indulge in some matchmaking.

I am grateful to Mimi Ahern for the invitation to relive one of my favorite experiences, while exploring the questions that lie beneath the surface of "October hayride." The journey was delightful.

Ferris Gilli
June 2025