Poems, Prayers And Promises

Ode To The Box Mill

By: James Holmes

 "Musty, dusty, dankly dirty,
Always late and always early,
 Click the clock with every key 
 A thousand sparrows live with me!
 

 I've bales of cotton,
 Bales and bales;
 Hills of bales,
 With concrete trails.

Bring your boll-fruits all to me

I'll not catch fire 'til half-past three!"
 

Memories

By: Anonymous

Late nite parking, Box Mill Road

Week-end homework, Overload

Twin street, Mill Village, Dairyland

Hide'N'Seek, Kick the can

Frosty Inn, Dairy Queen

Burn the bridge on Halloween

White Midget crowds, Tastee Freeze

Meet the gang at Lake Louise

Creek bank parties, time to kill

Friday Nites at Legion Field

H2o From Horseshoe Springs

Cubby on the Dye Ditch swing

Tiger beauties, Aggie cuties

Tootie Fruitie--Ah Rudy

Rosie Ross at MLS

Bee Bop dance songs by request

Little Paul's on the railroad track

Depot Mollie, a man called Sack

Odell Cleveland, (Band bus driver)

Jimmy House, late arriver

Trashpile Road, Gravity Hill

Bull Gap Mountain, Whiskey still

Tanyard Hill, Kymulga Cave

Baby crying, smoking grave

Hunting snipes, and cow tipping

Popey's Island, homebrew sipping

Light 'em up, smokestand fires

Ideal Drug Store, Widemires

Elvis, Rickey, Jerry Lee

Senior Prom, Kawliga Beach

Busy Corner, Yonder's Blossom

Playing hooky, playing possum

Park show nites with Mrs McGowen

Sylacauga, our hometown

Friends forever, till we die

Here's to you Old Comer High

Comet Drive-in, Ritz Theatre

Alligator---See You Later

p.s.

Mem'ries on our Web Site Screen

Thanks-A-Million Bobby Dean

"Chief " Holmes

By: Jimmy Holmes

He'd chew his seegar

As he sat in the car

At the crossing,

But he never lit it.

An' when it got to wet

You could dang sure bet

He'd bite off the end

And spit it

"There's Chief Holmes!" They'd say

As we went on our way

Home from school at the end of a day.

"Naw, it ain't!" i'd reply

With a glint in my eye

"That's MY Unca' Henry!"

The Dreamer

By: Anonymous

His  friends like to call him The Dreamer
He's the one with the bloody nose
From butting stone walls that he mistook for doors
And he's bruised from his head to his toes

He may tell you success still eludes him
But his failures add up to none
They're tools of his trade, and a teacher of ways
Of how not to get some things done

For his friends he'll enter arenas
(He still thinks true friendship exists)
And he'll take up their cause, whether right, whether wrong
And bear their unbearable risks

He has laughed with the clowns at the circus
And cried for the poor in the street
He's worn both the mask of the prince and the knave
Never sorting the bile from the sweet

And he's weathered wet storms on high mountains
Then parched in the dry desert sand
Just to stare at the dark side of life's lonely mirror
To prove to himself he's a man

Go ahead and call him The Dreamer
And he'll thank you again and again
That you gave him a name that turns pawns into kings
And sometimes-sure loss into wins

Go ahead and call him The Dreamer
But take care, what you say may be true
Should he wake up and find that you'll never exist
Cause The Dreamer has been dreaming you

The Big Ditch

By Jimmy Holmes

The Big Ditch still has its green rocks.
I went back there with my boy to see.

And as we waded the Big Ditch for green rocks,
My childhood came rushing by,
Splashing creek-water tears in my eyes.

I didn't want my boy to see,
So I turned aside
And wiped them away.

And that's when I heard
My little boy say,

"What's wrong, Dad?"

I couldn't explain it then,
But he's a Daddy now

And he knows!

Walco Fanny

By: James Holmes

On the creek bank at Walco, under the bridge,
"Walco Fanny" was Queen of the Fish.

And she'd go "Hee! Hee! Hee!" pulling every one in.

No matter how close I'd scrunch up beside her,
No matter what bait I'd use,
No matter how hard I'd try or wish,
Walco Fanny stayed Queen of the Fish.

And she'd go "Hee! Hee! Hee!" pulling every one in.

I'd almost bet that, to this very day,
There's a huge, happy black woman
With a flashing-white smile,
A long, flour-sack dress,
And a scarf tied over her head
Sitting on a creek bank in Glory,
Completely out-fishing all of the saints

And going "Hee! Hee! Hee!" pulling every one in
 
And if things work out between the Lord and me,
I'd like to sit down beside her again.

Two Coaches

By: James Holmes

Ol' "Teedie" Faulk was a Son of a Bitch!
There's just not a nice way to put it.
And, besides, if he's still alive,
Maybe he'll sue me,
And I'll have my chance  to PROVE it!

"Fifteen licks" from that Son of a Bitch!
And I didn't even feel the last three!
But at age sixty-six, I feel EVERY ONE,
And I'm PISSED at what he did to me!

"FIFTEEN LICKS!
And it wasn't the first time, either!

It was just, by FAR, the worst!

I kept it quiet, but somebody told Pop,
Who came home and asked me about it.

Then he looked at my butt,
And I heard him say "SHIT!"
And he went out the door and slammed it.

That was the ONLY time Pop went down to B. B.

And that was the LAST time "Teedie" Faulk whipped my ass!

The Son of a Bitch!

*******************

I wouldn't even try to play football my junior year.
Though I knew Nelly-Belly'd like a hero,
I spent most of my time with the Choir.

But in the summer of ‘51, Coach Coker Barton,
Great All-America center from Auburn,
Convinced me I'D be a great one.

And, besides, his Sudie was sooooooo dadgum pretty,
I'd get jellified knees just from looking!

So Coach got his center,
And threw me a ball,
And told me to snap it to Bobby.

But it slipped from my hand,
And it did it again,
And I knew my career was in trouble!

"Lemme see that hand, Jimmy."
I held mine to his, and the difference was totally shocking:
While my fingers were stubby and short and fat,
Coach's were long and lean and strong!

From then on, I was offensive guard and defensive tackle,
And not very good at that.
But I had football FUN, and Coach is the one
Who made me forget all the bad.

Oh, I tried.
I tried HARD!
I just wasn't very good.

But there ain't no way you can take it away ---
And, at times, my Nell had her hero.

Thanks, Coach. I'll ALWAYS love you!

"The Red Clay Hills of Home"
By: Kay Cheshire Cirlot 



What keeps me away from there
I'll never understand
'cause it's from those red clay hills of home
where my strength has always been.

Making a toothbrush from a black gum bush
or humming Amazing Grace
allows the best, and the worst, in us
a bit of saving face.

To know the peace and solitude
of a crackling fire at night
as you lay shivering under 15 quilts
with only a flicker of light.

The memory of smalltown days
has an enchantment all its own
with noise carried only on robin's wing
or the relentless crickets song.

To walk barefoot on a dirt road at twilight
with honeysuckle on the wind
is a peace of mind you can't describe
to even the best of friend.

Don't ask me about the Depression ---
I was born when times were good:
Pop made a dollar a day in a coal mine
And we always had plenty of food.

But the mines were a dark disaster;
It knocked a day off your life to inhale.
So we packed up and shortly thereafter
Pop worked for Avondale.

Sure, I remember Mignon,
From the time that I was two.
And I remember Taylor's Store,
And the five-thirty whistle's toot;

And the General Office building,
And the sidewalk down to the street,
Where I'd skate like heck and sixty,
Right smack to the shack at the Gate.

And there in the park a gazebo,
Though I'd no name for it, then,
Where old men came to remember
And young men sought to begin.

407 Oak Street, Walco, U.S.A.
God never made a better place
For a kid like me to play!

Paw and Maw Persons on one side,
The "Kinneygarden" across the street.

Albert Moore used to live on the other side.
They killed him in the war,
And everybody cried.

I was swimming in the goldfish pond when I heard it,
And I cried, too.

Then, I had no idea why.

Now I know why people cry
When Albert Moores die.

I'M SEEING MORE OF MARY

BY:Anonymous

 
IN THE PICTURE ABOVE THE FIREPLACE
I SEE ME HOLDING MARY'S HAND
AND ON ONE PRECIOUS FINGER
IS A TINY GOLDEN BAND

SOMETIMES IN THE KITCHEN
I CAN CLOSE MY EYES AND SEE
HER STANDING, STIRRING GENTLY
ON A FAVORITE RECIPE

IN THE NURSERY THERE'S THE CRADLE
FOR OUR BABY CHILD TO KEEP
   I WOULD WATCH AS MARY WHISPERED…
"NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP…"

  IN THE STILLNESS OF A RESTLESS NIGHT
  SOMETIMES I'D HEAR HER SING
 AND SHE'D SAY SHE DREAMED OF HEAVEN
AND SOARED WITH  ANGEL WINGS


HEAVEN BIDES ITS TIME SOMETIMES
BUT SOMETIMES ACTS IN HASTE
FOR MARY CLOSED HER EYES ONE NIGHT
AND GENTLY SLIPPED AWAY
 
 (NOW) AN ANGEL CHILD WITH HER MOTHER'S EYES
REMINDS ME EVERYDAY
THAT
I'M SEEING MORE OF MARY
NOW THAT MARY'S GONE AWAY

WATCHING WATCHING BEARS
By: Anonymous

Watching WATCHING BEARS,
bears watching from time to time
-So time your watch
And watch WATCHING BEARS-
But bear in mind that,
 Though time may be well spent
Watching WATCHING BEARS,
 Watching time spent
Watching WATCHING BEARS,
Bears watching also.

The worm-baited hook and weight arced through the still, moisture-packed air,
Its attached thirty-six-pound-test line following, defining the arc.

When the arc was complete, there came the familiar "Ka-choonk!"
And the resultant circular waves rolled lazily away from the rising bubbles,
Bombarded only momentarily by half-droplets of water.

He liked to watch the upside-down funnel created as the line rose from the ground,
Uncoiling itself to follow and to take its place in the creation of the arc;
But the picture created by the rushing line as it crossed from sky into water
Was usually too hypnotic for him to resist, and this day it was especially so
Because of the added beauty of the rose-gray sky above the dark mystery of the oaks.

Then he put one bare foot across the other and sat down on the damp earth to wait,
Allowing the dry, woven line to lie as it had fallen on the surface of the water.

"Might be a while," he mumbled to himself as he stabbed the stick into the thick mud,
Anchoring the line and giving himself insurance against losing the rig.

It wasn't "a while" — it was only a matter of a few seconds, a minute at most,
Before the line began its rush toward the spot where the arc had ended.

Surprised, he almost missed his grab for the line before the slack was taken up.

"This is a BIG bluegill!" he thought, feeling the power of the struggling fish
As the heavy line zizzed a path back and forth across the still, twilit surface.

Then, just as he had finished drawing the wet line hand-over-hand to the water's edge,
The spell was broken:

"JIMMYYYYYYYY! SUPPERTIME!"

He looked up to see his mother's silhouette in the lighted doorway on the other side.

Glancing down again at the beautiful fish with the bluish head and gold-tinged gills,
Its deep-green body and tail thrashing about in his hands in a effort to be free,
He answered:

"I'm coming, Mama!"

And gently released the unhooked prize back into the waters of Lake Louise.

MOTHER'S GARDEN
(anonymous)

THE OLD RAINCOAT COVERED A  WING THAT WAS SHATTERED
A HAT HID HIS SHARP EAGLE EYE
HE'D WALKED THERE TO WATCH THEM REPLANT THE GARDEN
SINCE HE'D LOST HIS PLACE IN THE SKY

FROM 'HOME ON THE RANGE' CAME HIS BIG FRIEND THE BUFFALO
THERE IN THE SHADOWS THEY STOOD
HE TURNED TO THE EAGLE AND SAID IN A WHISPER
"WON'T MOTHER'S GARDEN LOOK GOOD…

WHEN THE EARTH BECOMES GREEN AGAIN
AND THE RIVERS ALL RUN CLEAN AGAIN
WHEN THE TREES IN THE FOREST REACH FOR THE SKY
THEN MOTHER - FROM HER GARDEN
WILL GRANT HER CHILDREN A PARDON
THERE'LL BE HOPE FOR US ALL - THE GREAT AND THE SMALL
AND A PLACE FOR THE EAGLE TO FLY"

SOME PEOPLE BROUGHT SEEDLINGS WHILE OTHERS BROUGHT SHOVELS
BUT NO ONE STOOD IDLY BY
THEY CAME AS BELIEVERS, THE SOWERS, THE REAPERS
THE DREAMERS WHO NEVER SAY DIE

"THEY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE," SAID THE CRIPPLE OLD EAGLE
EVERY MAN AND WOMAN AND CHILD
I KNOW THEY WILL SHOW US THAT THIS GENERATION
HAS ANSWERED THE CALL OF THE WILD…

WHEN THE EARTH BECOMES GREEN AGAIN
AND THE RIVERS ALL RUN CLEAN AGAIN
WHEN THE TREES IN THE FOREST REACH FOR THE SKY
THEN MOTHER - FROM HER GARDEN
WILL GRANT HER CHILDREN A PARDON
THERE'LL BE HOPE FOR US ALL - THE GREAT AND THE SMALL
AND A PLACE FOR THE EAGLE TO FLY

TO A GENTLE SPIRIT
(anonymous)

IF I'VE SPOKEN WORDS IN ANGRY CONFUSION
JUST REMEMBER THAT PRIDE WEARS A PAINFUL DISGUISE
AND IF YOUR FAITH IN ME HAS BECOME AN ILLUSION
BECAUSE SOME OF MY TRUTHS HAVE BEEN WOVEN WITH LIES

IF IN LEARNING TO LOVE YOU I'VE HURT YOU
JUST REMEMBER THAT IN LIFE UNTIL DEATH
THE FRIEND DEEP INSIDE ME WILL NEVER DESERT YOU
AS LONG AS I DRAW PRECIOUS BREATH

IN MATTERS OF STAYING OR LEAVING
I WANT YOU TO WANT ME TO STAY
BUT IF I THOUGHT THAT YOU THOUGHT
MY HAND WAS AGAINST YOU
I WOULD CUT OFF MY ARM AND I'D WALK AWAY