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Black Eyed Peas Oklahoma Summer
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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