James Adrian Aka the Boss
My father in law was a funny guy
not given to doing much work
With a house full of sons and
daughters as well he found it easy to shirk
His sons ran the saws in the forest
the mule used to skid out the logs
His contribution to sharpen the chains
And decide when to call in the dogs
At home women carried water to wash dishes
humans and laundry
The thought of picking a bucket up
Threw the men folk into a quandary
Women and kids worked the garden
milked cows and carried wood
In every climate with no reprieve
It was just understood
I felt I had stepped back in time
Or to an alternate universe
Tried to foment rebellion as the women
Would grumble and curse
never could get them to commit to
on a strike just sitting down
We've got to plant this tobacco was told before
James gets back from town ...(With more)
The old man was really quite clever
In his backwoods hillbilly way
He hitched the mule to bed springs
that the kids rode without delay
The soil boiling up and over and out
till broke down as fine as could be
Other than bossing this last lick of toil
the very last we would see
The ironic part he received an award
for gardener of the year
An award he often spoke of and
One he clearly held dear
He was the director on this set
located in East Tennessee
A way of life so deeply entrenched
not unearthed by the likes of me
Copyright © Vickey Rhymer | Year Posted 2022
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