Although they live poorly, among junk cast off by others, these 'crackers' also live at one with the forest. The "clearcuts" refer to specific greenery from natural world, but also to the fact that "my" peoples' status in the South is clear cut, and thus the people have a certain honesty about them, in their relationships with one another as well as with outsiders who look down on them.

She is not naively sentimental about the power of nature. In fact, the command to "pray extra hard" suggests she fears nature. Also, sometimes it is necessary to "haul" away woods to survive, even in the face of the anger and disapproval of God -- but the hauler must be sure the act is necessary. God "winces" and "wonders" to see human arrogance and shaping inflicted upon other ecological