Out of the Dust Suffering Quotes Page 1

As summer wheat came ripe, / so did I, / born at home, on the kitchen floor, / Ma crouched, / barefoot, bare-bottomed / over the swept boards, / because that's where Daddy said it would be best. (1.1)

And that, friends of Shmoop, is how you write an opening line. What an image—right from the start, Billie Jo makes it clear that her life has been hard from day one.