Christmas In The Head Of The Holler
We live here in the head of the holler.
Whole family’s down to one last dollar.
December is here. So is the cold.
We are lost without any gold.
You other folks wait on Old Saint Nick
But here in the holler we think it’s a trick.
He hasn’t been here in about ten years
Never brought us anything to dry our tears.
We keep eating leftover pinto beans
Wearing more holes in the holes in our jeans.
We just need flour, milk, and lard.
Life in the holler’s never been this hard.
The children are crying with little hard squalls
Sleeping four to a bed curled up in balls
We eat anything that crosses the yard
Life in the holler’s never been this hard.
Some people call this house a shack
No windows in front, no door in the back.
Children run out, chickens run in,
If we catch them they never run again.
We remember the year we all got gifts
New pants for Pappy and Granny got new shifts.
Daddy got a pocket knife. Mommy got a skillet.
Brother got a goat and we had to kill it.
We remember that year we had plenty to eat
Shirts on our backs and shoes on our feet.
That year we had more than we needed.
The house got paint, the garden got seeded.
Since then it’s been all downhill
Nothing to eat, no hog to kill,
Nothing to spend on the food stamp card.
Life in the holler’s never been this hard.
You other folks wait on Old Saint Nick.
Here in the holler we know it’s a trick.
We just need flour, milk, and lard.
Life in the holler’s never been this hard.
Copyright by Roger D. Hicks, December 21, 2020
4 comments:
I needed a smile like that today. It's so refreshing Roger. Easy to read, understand and enjoy! Thank you so much. Happy holidays to you and yours.
Pam
Love it, good one
Love it! Merry Christmas!
In May
The plantains we'd bring,
And clean in the spring
Behind the house;
Where, in Winter,
We knew hunger,
And learned to scavenge
From house to house.
Like the mouse.
__________________________
terry@mattierdhillfarm.net
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