SOUTHERN HERITAGE

My Old Jeep

She has been driven hard and put away wet.

Neighbors want me to junk her but I am not ready yet.

She can pull out tractors and put 18 wheelers to shame.

She is famous in the Lowcountry and Herneeda is her name.

Her need a tire change, and her need a rest.

She winches bogged vehicles.

Farmers confess she is the best.

When God sends my bus dig my hole very deep.

Put  my jeans and tennis shoes on and bury me in my jeep.

THE MURDER

in memory of Netha Barnwell

She was 84 years old.
Her forefathers were slaves.
I loved her very much-
Now she is in her grave.

Her children went to college;
She wished for them a better life.
I can not stop grieving and
I will tell you why.

It was not an accident,
it was not a natural death.
This loving and kind woman
suffered to her last breath

She saw a familiar face
and invited him in her door.
Netha did not know
her life was no more.

He beat her. She was so scared.
He bludgeon her to death-
with a crowbar stabbed in her head.

BETWEEN DUSK AND DAWN

 to the little girl within

Born in hunger and poverty
struggling to stay alive.
Little girl, sadness in your smile.
Rest,my child. Sit for awhile.

Tired teenager, with loving parents gone
always hold up your head with pride.
Secretive lady, are the demons defeated?
Do you know the nights you have cried?

Sunbeams falling in the west
signals the close of her day.
She is still that scared little girl.
Will someone come out and play?

I am telling you my story.
I feel that I must.
Live a little. Laugh a little
between your dawn and dusk.

TOMMORROW

 I've been chasing rainbows
but I couldn't find the gold.
I've ridden the waves to shore,
searching for pirates' holds.

I have felt the winds of time.
Their gusts swept by me.
I found the door to Paradise
but I couldn't find the key.

I waited too long.
The treasure has been sold,
a hazy vision out of reach-
Gone, is the pirates' gold.

AN AMERICAN SOLDIER

 SFC Herbert E. Crosby
WWII Koren War Vet
7 March 1917--21 August 1981
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Proud to be in the Army
A government Agent
Sent across the sea
This is an American Soldier

Dressed in a uniform
To show his allegiance
And weather the storm
This is an American Soldier

Sworn to protect you and I
Defender of freedom
and willing to die
This is an American Soldier

Given a secret mission
He completes his orders
Through strong ambition
This is an American Soldier

In foreign lands he attends
To the fallen soldiers
Whose wounds need to mend
This is an American Soldier

Upon his return he cries
Becoming a hero
He says his goodbyes
This is an American Soldier

Gratified our nation stands
With heads held high we aim
To honor this man

DADDY TOLD ME

Daddy told me,as time goes by
things change and we don't know why.
God has His special plan for us.
Daddy told me in God I must trust.

Daddy told me that I must always believe
and serve Him even if I can't see.
Farther along we will understand.
He has a plan for me.

Lord, put me on the right track,
and teach me to believe.
I give to you, my sins.
I know you have a plan for me.
 

OUR TATTED ROBE

 There lies a red chenille robe
in a cardboard box that I keep.
It is threadbare and tattered
from rocking my two babies to sleep.

Many years of rocking and nodding
are etched into that old cloth.
The sleepless night, the ring of laughter
and the joy of loving them both.

The bacon is fried, the grits are done
and the dishes are in the sink.
I'm feeding my toddlers their breakfast
and one just spilled her drink.

Runny little noses, feverish heds,
there'll be no kindergarden today.
Momma's gonna make it all better.
Dirty floors will have to stay.

Music recitals and basketball games
as they hurry on their way;
Wet morning kisses on my face
as they greet a whole new day.

The watching of a clock
when her curfew draws.
My pride in their achievements,
my pain, when I see them cry-

Setting them...

ROY DOOLY

 ON A RAINY CHRISTMAS EVE,
ROY DOOLY WENT HOME TO GOD ~~
HE WANTED TO ATTEND A BIRTHDAY PARTY! !
EVERYONE KNEW THIS WAS NOT ODD.

HE CELEBRATED HIS LIFE WITH ZEST
WHILE WAITING FOR THE BIG DAY~~
HE LOVED HIS DAYS OF HUNTING
BUT KNEW HE WOULDN�T STAY.

ROY TOOK ONE DAY AT A TIME
AND A BIG BUCK GAVE HIM A SMILE ~~
IF ANYONE EVER NEEDED HELP,
HE�D ALWAYS GO THE EXTRA MILE.

SO REST IN PEACE, OLD FRIEND,
JESUS NOW HAS ANOTHER GIFT ~~
HE PICKED YOU FOR HIS BIRTHDAY ! !
LET US~TOO~FULFILL HIS LIST.

TIME

 The old house is deserted.
Time has left its mark.
A young couple once lived there
And now they are apart.

Their love filled the house.
Three Children called it home.
The years quickly passed
And three children are now gone.

She forgot his name.
He felt so alone~
Many years had passed~
they had to leave home.

Occasionally the children drive him
to the place he loves most.
The roof is now falling~
his gate has lost a post.

If he had the strength to repair,
the job would get done.
When she was with him,
they worked together as one.

EPILOGUE

I often drive down Main Street in Walterboro, SC. I park in front of the spot that used to be Frank's Department Store. Thoughts and memories invade my mind. Main Street greets me as an old friend.

My Roots run deep in that Rum Gully soil. The structures that exist are my old home and corn house, still dwarfed under the moss-laden oak trees. The paths that I walked have disappeared and I can't find Beetle's grave.

I am frequently seen sitting on the back steps, looking out over CowPens Branch. Familiar sights and sounds invade my soul as I go back to yesterday.

In the distance, I see a little girl with blond hair and blue eyes running toward me~

She is coming home and life is good.

*exerpt from RumGully Roots*

-to order Rumgully Roots, go to: www.Xlibris.com-