Maryland's Dream

Inspired by this art Jean-François Millet’s The Gleaners, painted in 1857. Housed in the Musée d’Orsay.

Maryland rose, presing fists into her low back and leaning she hollered, “Ooohhh lawdy lawdy lord. I done gone and hurt my back again y’all!” Odessa and HaddieMae giggled. “Now I don’t know what yall is laughing at cause you do this long nuff, yo back gone go out too.” The two girls giggled. 
Odessa holding the bag of wheat the three picked said, “Well ma’am ya know you coulda been the one holding the grain yall is finding. You ain’t have to be bending over and tugging up all the lil ole grains you find in the dirt.” 
“Ohh hush up and bring that bag here.” Maryland dumped the grain into the bag.
 Then HaddieMae stood straight and said in her way, 
“Shit, I wouldn't want to be doing none of this mess if I was to get as old as you!” 
“HaddieMae!” Odessa said in shock. 
“What girl? You was thinking it too.” 
Maryland just looked at the both of them mouth slightly ajar. Remembering what it was to be a young girl. How she used to be looking at old Maisey and laughing at her from time to time. Now here she was, in old Maisey’s place, with a bad back no less.
A mirthless laugh escaped in a deep huff. “Well girlie, you ain’t wrong.” She stretched and pushed her fists deeper into the small of her back looking off into the horizon over the tree line. 
She didn’t know what came over her to talk but the words just began to come. “I wanted to be a seamstress.” Birds flew from the tree tops and into the dimming blue sky. “I wanted to make real pretty dresses for all the rich womens and pretty guhls to come to Maryland’s shop. My shop. Buy my dresses and eat nice little foods like the Mistress and her friends and sip on tea or coffee. Or go dance! Ohh to see em twirl and twist about in a pretty lil ole dress I made.”
She could see it now as she laughed. “Hahaha. Reckon then it’d make sense why I kept all these white teeth in my head. To smile and smile and smile.” She sniffed and bent her back to tug the grain stalks from the dry hard earth again. The girls were still and silent for a long while before one, then the other got back to work.