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Black-Eyed Peas (Oklahoma Summer)
David J Walker

The blooms arrive in June and by
July the pea pods start to dangle 
Soon the picking will begin when 
Grandma says so shading her eyes
From the angle of the morning sun

So…. the work has begun
Cousins used to summer reunions 
Deep off the backroads of Oklahoma

A competition of kids
Filling grocery sacks with fresh 
Black eyed peas and sent back 
To complete the harvest

Grandma holds the chrome bowl
Cradled on her apron between her knees
Some to snap and some to shell
Some to can and some to freeze 

Aunt Eula laughs at 
something mom has said
Mom laughs until she cries 
And as the laughter dies 

You can hear Granma humming
hymns and sometimes the others
Joining in singing the sacred words
Of the verses they remember

The canner sputters dangerously 
On the stovetop as gauges pop
Propelled by steam 

While the cans cool and 
The freezer is full of the 
Fresh packed bounty of the garden 

Cousins play in the garden hose spray
Laughing in the late evening of a July sun 

Grandma calls from the screened in porch
It’s time to eat
Wash your hands and wipe your feet

The aroma of fried chicken 
Creamy mashed potatoes and gravy 
Wild plum jam and 
biscuits baking in the oven 
Fresh sweet cream butter that 
We churned just yesterday 
And black-eyed peas we picked today

All in one day 
Of an Oklahoma summer

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