The Ballad of Villonia Beebe, a Life In Three Parts: Part 1

An Overview

When Villonia Beebe was a baby of three
She got it in her head to trim the Christmas tree.
She lit all the pretty candles,
Tossed the matchstick away,
Sister, brother, dad, and mother
Never saw Christmas Day.

Nine years went by, she bloomed, and when Villonia was twelve,
She got a yen for French and Greek and so decided to delve.
When her language teachers asked her
What she wanted to do,
Villonia taught those profs some things
The French and Greeks never knew.

She played the field with lots of guys but at age thirty-two
She thought to get herself a steady man was what she should do.
She tried out Toms, and Dicks, and Harrys,
And then settled, in due course,
For a handsome hunk named Homer
Whose nickname was "Horse".

They lived as wife and husband then for sixty-four years,
A life of trials and tribulations, lots of laughter, lots of tears.
Homer made and sold corn "likker"
From a still up in the hills,
And Vee would sometimes turn a trick or two
To help pay the bills.

The lovebirds made their minds up when they turned ninety-five
That they would live to be the oldest couple alive,
But time and sex and "likker"
Tend to play funny tricks,
Hunky Homer kicked the bucket
At a neat ninety-six.

Villonia is alone again like when she was three.
She's outlived most of her friends and family.
As she sits, and sips, and waits her turn,
One reflection seems to calm her,
When she's found she'll be so full of 'shine,
They won't bother to embalm her.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2023

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Rodrigues Avatar
June 4, 2023 at 11:21 AM
Interesting ballad!
Slaughter Avatar
June 4, 2023 at 2:30 PM
Thank you, Kim.
Bauer Avatar
June 2, 2023 at 2:35 PM
This is such an entertaining story, Jim, told in a funny and delightful way. I very much enjoyed it…
Slaughter Avatar
June 3, 2023 at 10:43 AM
Thanks, Ilene...and Villonia thanks you, too.
Kamoonpuri Avatar
June 2, 2023 at 2:12 PM
Woahh a very interesting tale written in a fab engaging way. Is it based on a true story? Kudos for this fantastic ballad!!
Slaughter Avatar
June 3, 2023 at 10:46 AM
Thanks, S.zaynab. She could be a real person...but not someone I personally know or know of. Her name is, actually, a combination of two small towns, one in northern Arkansas, and one in central Missouri. Originally I intended her to be a character in a play I hoped to write someday. Hopefully, that will still happen...someday.
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