The poems convey the saga of an Italian family transplanted to America to impose an apple orchard on recalcitrant land. The unquenchable want and work ethic of Grandfather and Father erupt in curses and desperate prayer as "the endless stain of America/ spreads in all directions/ from the dark spot/ the tractor marks." All is seen through the sensitive but unflinching eyes of the narrator in muscular language that flares, unexpectedly, into poetic vision.