Uncountable

Robert Emmet

How do I count you? Let me count the ways.
By any or by only, absolutes
defining roles and what the public says
about the women digging down for roots
among the deep, historic, broken soils.
Untilled, unknown, unsung, a layer hides
beneath a quick description of their toils,
a simple summary of who decides.
Did “any” plant all day, then nurse all night,
unearth her manhood, maybe witness God?
So many things we never measure might
say more about the women working sod.
It matters if it matters. Who are we
to measure once and cut infinity?

The Science

This poem is inspired by recent research that showed the effects of using different measures on how women farmers are counted in the US Census of Agriculture. The paper showed that, for example, that 56% of farms have any women farmers, while 9% have only women farmers. It certainly matters how we measure variables that are important to us, so that we can better understand how different expectations and barriers affect farming decisions. However, the paper also resurfaced broader questions for me. How much of the experience of farmers are we missing by focusing on (more) “easily observed” variables? Which unmeasured variables could tell us much about how and why a person farms? What do we lose by representing infinitely diverse experiences in a finite way?

The Poet

Robert Emmet (he/him/his) is a survey methodologist and poet. His research has focused on combining multiple data sources to improve estimates from surveys. His poetry has focused on finding hope in dark times, drawing on nature and fandoms as inspirations. He holds a PhD in Quantitative Ecology and Resource Management from the University of Washington.

Next poem: Vertigo by Rowan Deer