Memories of the Oldest House In Town

No running water or indoor plumbing just an old coal stove to keep us warm Cold in winter sleeping without existence of heat in the old add on room In summer we'd carry our bed outside to rest under the old apple tree Sleeping under the stars was quite the experience for my sisters and me Cool breezes blowing from the canyon over the old sandy hill Listing to running water in the ditch below resonates in my mind still Pulling the blankets up and tucking them in all around us three Making sure the snakes and bugs did not join us in bed under that old tree Imaginary adventure, stranded jungle survivors in the wooded area below that old house In winter lying awake listening to the scratching sound made by a visiting mouse Pretending as if we were eating chicken or corn on the cob on each others arm Trying to chase away the gnawing hunger in our bodies did us no harm Might not have food enough to eat but we had the first TV in town We wanted to fit in as children do hopes that our poverty not bring us down Daddy made promises to build a new house someday Momma listened wistfully to his stories then began to silently pray Hoping her little family would indeed survive this shame Listening to words carelessly flung into the air you are to blame Sometimes it did not quite work the way things were expected Sometimes with our lifestyle we felt sad and rejected Memories are there to re live weather good or bad I choose to remember best those good memories I have had