How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Stanza)
Quote #1
She was distracted enough, / I was determined enough, / this time I got just what I wanted. / Permission to play at the Palace. (5.3)
Given what's coming down the pike for her later, Billie Jo's need to persuade Ma to let her play piano at the Palace Theater seems pretty small. Still, it reveals a lot about her character. When Billie Jo wants something, she isn't going to give up easily.
Quote #2
After seventy days / of wind and sun, / of wind and clouds, / of wind and sand, / after seventy days, / of wind and dust, / a little / rain / came. (12.1)
This poem—which comprises the entire chapter—is pretty much the entire story of these people's lives. They wait and wait for even the smallest amount of rain, and when it's gone, they start waiting all over again. When Billie Jo gives these brief, poetic descriptions of the weather, it's usually to showcase the perseverance of her community in hoping that somehow things just have to get better.
Quote #3
I ask Ma / how, after all this time, / Daddy still believes in rain. / "Well, it rains enough," Ma says, / "now and again, / to keep a person hoping. / But even if it didn't / your daddy would have to believe. / It's coming on spring, / and he's a farmer." (14.7-8)
One of the most memorable traits about Bayard Kelby is that no matter how bad the situation gets, he keeps hoping that the rain will come and the wheat will revive—even when his hopes are borderline unrealistic. Being a farmer is so much a part of his identity that he doesn't know what to do except hope for a miracle when spring comes.