A Time Past

There’s something exceptional about country life Taking me back to when things were so slow Sitting under a tree coring an apple with a knife Gazing over golden corn and counting each row The gnats during the day would not let me rest As I laid out on the crumbling veranda to nap A nagging nuisance and unwelcomed guests Killing them each time my small hands clapped I rose early in the morning to get my chores done The summer was hot; you got weak from the heat When I went hunting, Papa loaned me his shotgun There are plenty of fruit trees on the land, a treat I’d bring home a squirrel or rabbit for the woodstove Grandma Hattie would skin and cook it before sunset Collect some of the sweetest peaches from the grove Making a cobbler as close to heaven as you could get A shortcut by the mill, a rock’s throw from our barn If I wanted a cool drink, I'd go to the riverbanks Sitting with Ms. Katie as she spun thick nylon yarn At supper, we bowed our heads to give God thanks Papa chewed snuff as the crickets chirped outside Harmonizing their mournful songs the entire night We hitched up the buckboard for an evening ride At a fire, telling ghost tales until we peed from fright It’s been so long; the house is overtaken by decay Remembering those memories from a long-ago past Those precious anecdotes that I cherish to this day Wanting it to stay the same and hoping it would last