Southern Comfort
Southern Comfort
Golden rays burst through the
Summer hot pane while dust motes dance lazily
Down to the green shag
Outside the white paint stark peels in hidden places
While the sun bakes hundred year old planks
On the front porch a little girl swings
“Swinging, swinging way up high” she sings
Kicking four year old chubby legs happily
Wearing tiny white leather sandals.
And her new yellow Woolworth’s sundress
Her Mema sits beside her
With eyes that always twinkle
Their raw emerald green
And crinkle in the corners
With lines that tell the story of persevering joy.
Later a walk down to the crik
With a cane pole and fat back tied to its string
Worn out jeans protect from simple dangers like chiggers
And the promise of crawdads for dinner
Stirs up a deeper hunger to be grown-up self-sufficient
But lightening bugs start flashing
And appeal to precious youth for squeals and giggles
While molasses pig-tails bounce and sway
In their sweet merry way that only little girls can portray
With an innocence that’ll make a grown man weep
While looking up at Pau-Pau arms out-stretched to be held
Violet, orange and magenta hues
Spill across the Indian summer sky moving on to twilight
Ciccadas play their symphony
Honey suckle wafts on a breeze
And the stars come out to say good night
The little girl held tight
Her Mema and Pau Pau dance her in the moon-light
And sing a lullaby, “Sleep baby, sleepy, while angels watch over you”
The little head nestles in what can only be southern comfort
While she dreams of cotton fields, cold lemonade
And the kittens in Mema’s closet.
DEVAH
2010
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