MEMORIES OF A COUNTRY FARM

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=215 BGCOLOR="#999999" TEXT="#080000" background="0440eb82ermwup.jpg"> <bR> <div> "SUNSET"</div> <div>  <embed src="HTMLobj-510/sunset.mid" autostart="false" width="145" height="70">  </div> <div> sound control</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="food for thought 3 homepage"><B>BACK TO HOME 3</B></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="guestbook.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="GUESTBOOK"><B>VISIT GUESTBOOK</B></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="memories.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="MEMORIES"><B>BACK TO MEMORIES</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="memories.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="MEMORIES"><B>SELECTION PAGE</B></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=95 style=" border-bottom: 1px solid #000000;" BGCOLOR="#999999" TEXT="#080000" background="043b85f1ermwup.jpg"> <bR> <div> <B>FOOD FOR THOUGHT MEMORIES</B></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=385 width="100%" colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#990000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <I>MEMORIES OF A COUNTRY FARM</I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> * * * * * *</div> <div> <B>When I feel low in a pensive way,</B></div> <div> <B>and life seems so forlorn,</B></div> <div> <B>my thoughts all stray to an early day,</B></div> <div> <B>back where I was born;</B></div> <div> <B>'Twas an old frame house on a country farm...</B></div> <div> <B>mid corn and tobacco crops;</B></div> <div> <B>where the rooster's crow was our alarm</B></div> <div> <B>to rise and tend those spots.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>And when we rose each early morn',</B></div> <div> <B>aroma was everywhere,</B></div> <div> <B>the sweet, sweet smell of that old farm</B></div> <div> <B>embraced the morning air.</B></div> <div> <B>The rooster, there on the chicken's coop,</B></div> <div> <B>made his presence known,</B></div> <div> <B>the hens then formed a chorus group,</B></div> <div> <B>to join his mating tone!</B></div> <div> <B>To milk a cow, I did with ease...</B></div> <div> <B>squirting it in a pail,</B></div> <div> <B>but had to duck each time I squeezed...</B></div> <div> <B>to clear her switching tail!</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>And, many nights on that old farm,</B></div> <div> <B>the neighbors came and hummed...</B></div> <div> <B>around the fire at our old barn,</B></div> <div> <B>as fiddles and banjos strummed.</B></div> <div> <B>And Pa would set a rag on fire</B></div> <div> <B>to smoke the "skeeters" away,</B></div> <div> <B>and all would sing and never tire....</B></div> <div> <B>sometimes 'til break of day.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>And many nights, in awe we gazed..</B></div> <div> <B>at skies with countless stars,</B></div> <div> <B>and all us kids would look amazed...</B></div> <div> <B>in guessing which was Mars.</B></div> <div> <B>'mid dark of nights came sparkling lights</B></div> <div> <B>from lightning bugs about;</B></div> <div> <B>just one small sight that showed God's might:</B></div> <div> <B>that He left nothing out.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>And from the woods late in the day,</B></div> <div> <B>when all was soft and still,</B></div> <div> <B>you could hear it in a lonesome way...,</B></div> <div> <B>the call of the whippoorwill.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>And I recall the old brick well,</B></div> <div> <B>a mainstay in our lives,</B></div> <div> <B>without a bail from wooden pail,</B></div> <div> <B>no farm life there survives.</B></div> <div> <B>Then, Mama would ring a dinner time bell</B></div> <div> <B>that chimed across the field;</B></div> <div> <B>and we washed our hands by the old brick well...</B></div> <div> <B>on way to the noon-day meal;</B></div> <div> <B>where cooking aroma adrift like haze,</B></div> <div> <B>would cover the woods and dell,</B></div> <div> <B>and a farmer's nose, like a deer, would raise...</B></div> <div> <B>to breathe that gorgeous smell!</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>And meals prepared were filled with care</B></div> <div> <B>for Mama left nothing out;</B></div> <div> <B>like collard greens with corn and beans,</B></div> <div> <B>and sweet potatoes...pared.</B></div> <div> <B>Ham with grits and brussel sprouts,</B></div> <div> <B>with corn-pone buttered bread.</B></div> <div> <B>Then apple pie would catch our eye,</B></div> <div> <B>that only she could bake,</B></div> <div> <B>or chunks of chocolate cake to try,</B></div> <div> <B>and all that we could take.</B></div> <div> <B>Now those good days of long ago,</B></div> <div> <B>still fill my memory's store,</B></div> <div> <B>Though up in age and getting slow,</B></div> <div> <B>I cherish them all the more;</B></div> <div> <B>and I'll hold in my memory for now and forever,</B></div> <div> <B>those days that brought me charm,</B></div> <div> <B>for when I become lonely, my first endeavor...</B></div> <div> <B>is recall our country farm!</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>William E. 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