the homesteaders daughter: A Winter's Dream

Sunday, September 20, 2009

A Winter's Dream

Winter's comin'
Can you hear his approach?
He's drivin' a great big pumpkin
That fairy-tale coach

The geese took off
On a wing and a prayer
When they heard the old ice king
Had left his lair

The ruby-red leaves
Are waltzin' the hills
Up and down valleys
Through rooks and through rills

Turkeys are runnin'
While the runnin' is good
Mountains have put on a snow cape
And pulled up the hood

Barns are bulgin'
With hay by the load
Whoa! Here he comes now!
"Round November's road

He's pickin' up speed
A use'n that whip
And Jack Frost's ridin' shot-gun
On his favorite trip

So, run for shelter
And don't look back
Just make sure you have wood
By the ten-cord stack

Get out the quilts
Pile 'em on the bed
Find the raincoats
And why not the sled

The air is gettin' colder
He's right around the bend
May it be a lovely season
Happy Winter, Friend

Audrey Y.

6 comments:

DeannaSeptember 20, 2009 at 8:40 PM
She's a coming real soon!
Enjoyed your post!
May you have a blessed Autumn.
God bless,
d
ReplyDelete
Replies
DeannaSeptember 20, 2009 at 9:31 PM
Dear Audrey,
Thank you for the prayers. Greatly appreciate this.
Hope you are feeling much better, as well as your daughter.
Sorry to hear that there have been some medical issues. God bless you and comfort you.
Your blogging friend in Kansas,
d
ReplyDelete
Replies
KathyB.September 21, 2009 at 1:25 AM
Audrey, what an amazing poem. You really do have a gift with words that brings pictures to mind as I read them.
ReplyDelete
Replies
Brenda Kay LedfordSeptember 21, 2009 at 10:57 AM
Audrey
This is a wonderful poem about fall. I love all the beautiful images. Great poem!!
ReplyDelete
Replies
AnonymousSeptember 27, 2009 at 12:22 PM
This is such a beautiful poem. As one who read to my mother in her later years, I appreciate the pictures you paint with you words. Autumn is a favorite time and I enjoyed this so much. Thanks also for visiting me on Kathy's recommendation. I greatly appreciate it. God bless.
ReplyDelete
Replies
AnonymousOctober 13, 2009 at 7:17 AM
Love it, Audrey!!!
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

A Little bit about the grandparents

I consider myself blessed to have known my paternal great-grandparents. Allie and Knapp were a couple straight out of "Little House on the Prairie. They lost a child while still in Kansas and soon after traveled to Washington state where they homesteaded a goodly piece of land and proceeded to build a beautiful farm where the flowers bloomed with abundance to match the fruit of the orchard and the fields of grain.

Their second son, Glenn married Pearl, had a son by her but she gave her life to bring him forth. She died when her baby son, Lloyd, was born. The grandparents raised the boy while Glennn married a young woman named Beulah. They had two boys, but grandson, Lloyd stayed on with them . when he was 8 years-old his father, Glenn was killed by a truck load of logs that rolled off a train and crushed him to pieces.

Their lives seemed one long tragedy, yet love was more alive there than most any other place I have ever been. My father, Lloyd married Maudie Clark and I was their first child, born in our own little house on the Moore property. How could anything so right go so terribly wrong??

By the time I came along the grandparents were in their 80's and life happened. My parents divorced and though I stauyd mainly with my mother I spent a great deal of time with my dad and Grandpa and Grandma on the farm...or what was left of it by this time.

There never was running water in the, "big" house or an inside toilet and only limited electricity.

On most days Grandma sat in the parlor in her rocker in front of a standing radio and two windows where the honeysuckle smiled- in during the summer months; the Bible at her side.

The kitchen floor sank in a little and the oil-cloth on the big square table
was worn from the meals that had been served there. A kerosene lamp stood there also and somehow it always smelled like apple pie.

My grandma was just under 5 feet tall, with grey hair pulled back in a bun and little tiny feet. She could not see well and wore thick glasses, maybe not a pretty picture to anyone else but a matchless queen to me, and whenever she asked me to go to her closet and bring a certain box to her side I knew I was about to see wonderous things or to hear grand stories

My family's history was in those boxes and over the few years that I had my dear great-grandparents I learned who I was. Grandpa had his tales to tell also. One such story was the one about a horse kicking him in the chest and he DID seems to have a hoof print in that spot.

Grandpa chewed...tobacco that is... and watching him bite off a chunk of the rich chocolate colored stuff was very tempting. My mother told me that when she was expecting me she was so overcome with temptation that she snuck a piece of the tobacco when Grandpa wasn't looking and had her chew...and spent some time with her head hanging over the dandelion field behind the house.

Grandpa Knapp was an unusual fella. Once a year the grandparents house was scrubbed inside with calsomine, a white paint-like substance. He had to walk to the paint store which was a good 5 miles one way. His walks were going to become a problem later on after Grandma was gone but that will have to come later.