Out of the Dust

This section summarizes Poem 18: “Tested by Dust,” Poem 19: “Banks,” Poem 20: “Beat Wheat,” Poem 21: “Give Up on Wheat,” and Poem 22: “What I Don’t Know.”

In another round of tests at school, students contend with a passing dust storm that blows dust into the school. In “Banks,” Billie Jo feels relief when Ma says they will get back all their lost money from the bank’s closure: “Now we will have money for a doctor / when the baby comes” (38). Due to continued dry conditions and wind, County Agent Dewey forewarns there may be little seed from this year’s wheat crop to start next year’s. Billie Jo tries to play piano to keep her mind off this news, but Ma sends her to the store. Billie Jo sees how thin Joe De La Flor’s cattle are on the way and feels there is little chance of a future there.

In “Give Up on Wheat,” Ma tries to convince Daddy to dig a pond or try cotton or sorghum, but Daddy refuses, counting on his past success with wheat as a sign to not change. When Ma persists, Daddy points out that though her two apple trees need a lot of water, she would never suggest cutting them down.