Sing a Song Loudly
I sang the songs my teachers taught me
The evenings Papa would come home drunk
When he so filled up our four-room house
It seemed, when he arrived, it had shrunk.
Papa cursed his way from front to back
Said the meanest things to Mama and me
One of many nights I long remember
From childhood when I wanted so much to flee.
Escaping to anywhere, to find a safe haven,
Where some peace and calmness might reign
Mama said, “Sing a song your teacher taught.
Think of one with a rousing cheery refrain.”
She said to shout it out, loud as I could sing it
When the blue skies turned to a somber gray
And, if I sang it long and loudly enough
The tears I had been crying would go away.
Leading “The Singin’ Seniors” many years later
I recalled that lesson from Mama long ago
“You can’t sing and be sad at the same time!”
She’d say, so, sing a song wherever you go.
written May 19, 2021
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