A gardener watches a drought undo his work. No matter how much he waters, the tomatoes and squash wilt, the corn curls, and the potatoes give up, leaving a half-sized harvest. His frustration comes out in a wry twist on the King Midas myth: where Midas turned everything to gold, he turns everything to dust.
Then the tone shifts. He asks for one wish, and he won't even tell it to himself. He'll carry it "back to earth's ear in a bucket," as if the ground were a listener who might finally respond. That image makes the watering feel less like chores and more like a plea or a prayer.
The short closing verse widens the view. "Sinkholy" hints at ground giving way, and the fields seem to rest on thin stalactites, which suggests how fragile the land has become. The mood is tired and worried, but it holds onto a small, quiet hope.