On new mixtures, and learning without surrender

15:1

The next year,

a man arrived with sacks and papers.

15:2

He spoke of nitrogen,

of balance,

of feeding the ground

what crops had taken.

15:3

Some distrusted him at once.

15:4

Others listened too eagerly.

15:5

They brought the matter to Christopher.

15:6

He opened a sack,

let the granules run through his fingers,

and watched how they fell.

15:7

He asked,

"What happens if you give a man

only bread?"

15:8

Someone answered,

"He weakens."

15:9

Christopher nodded.

15:10

He said,

"The soil is no different."

15:11

They asked,

"Should we use it?"

15:12

He replied,

"On some fields."

15:13

This angered both sides.

15:14

For those who feared it wanted none,

and those who trusted it wanted all.

15:15

Christopher said,

"Wisdom does not gamble everything

on a new promise."

15:16

"Nor does it reject help

because it is unfamiliar."

15:17

He chose fields already weakened,

and fields close enough to watch.

15:18

He said,

"Learn what it does in drought.

Learn what it does in rain."

15:19

"Learn what it gives,

and what it takes."

15:20

The harvest came stronger there.

15:21

Not richer in taste,

but steadier.

15:22

The roots held better.

15:23

The soil did not flee as quickly.

15:24

Christopher did not celebrate.

15:25

He said,

"Now we know something."

15:26

They asked,

"What do we do next?"

15:27

He answered,

"Use it sparingly."

15:28

"For strength borrowed too often

becomes dependence."

15:29

That year,

the town ate.

15:30

And the soil,

though tired,

did not collapse.

15:31

I understood then

that Christopher did not oppose progress.

15:32

He opposed haste.