My Little Child (For Harriet Tubman) © 2018
My little child,
the days are getting shorter,
and there’s no moonlight,
so go quietly for the boarder, and
look for the light glowing in the window.
be safe my child and cry into your pillow
never make a noise while crossing over the river
it’s a noisy railroad car but silent is the rider
I want you to be brave and hope that we’ll meet again
For I will always Love you
and I will always care
When in the darkness
and the fear starts creeping in
that’s when your life story
is about to begin, so
look for the light glowing in the window.
be safe my child and cry into your pillow
never make a noise while crossing over the river
it’s a noisy railroad car but silent is the rider
I want you to be brave and hope that we’ll meet again
For I will always Love you
For I will always Love you
For I will always Love you
and I will always care
The Geese Story (true tale) © 2019
we were born in Kentucky
where the water was sweet
our papa made corn whiskey
and cast out the spent mash to feed
The dogs, the chickens and some cackling
geese
when he went on deliveries
our responsibilities
to keep the fire burning
and cast out the spent mash to feed
the dogs, the chickens and some
mischievous geese
We were one, two, three little girls
making moonshine, the best in the world
tending the fire all day long
while papa was out on a run
Our homestead in Kentucky
surrounded by, sycamore trees
We always felt so lucky
made us so easier to please
until we found dead, “gasp!” our once noisy geese
well, winter was fast approaching
and warm bodies pluck easier-ly
so we hurried to the plucking
down feathers are good for the freeze
we marveled at our ingenuity
next morning we woke early “really early”
to a cack - cackling!
alive, featherless and angry
smelling of an old brewery
So, we quickly knitted sweaters for their bare
bodies
the ending of this story is about
those thieving little geese
they did their bit of outlawry
eating old mash fermenting
when we found them dead drunk, not even moving “it’s wasn’t our fault!”
We were, one, two, three little girls
Making moonshine, the best in the world
Tending the fire all day long
while papa was out on a run,
our geese were having some fun
and now that’s the end of our song!
Kentucky Rain © 2018
I was a belle of the ball
a southern woman with means
I once had magic
to charm the men
with un-certain sadness
we moved out west
my family was from Kentucky
born in Boone’s Fort and made Whiskey
had a reputation
for our family recipe
a sour mash creation
balanced with the sweetest taste of
Kentucky rain,
coming down
Sweet Kentucky Rain
Before ma died and we were
orphaned
Many a young man came
a-courting but
we left Lincoln County
and the Kentucky green
we moved to the desert
for the dyer heat, but now I’m missing the
Kentucky rain, coming down
Sweet Kentucky Rain…
Daylight © 2018
Daylight creeps into night
in a chorus of night sounds
we ride
to the desert under the sky
we’re watching the moonrise
wheels drive
in a vale of darkness
I hear the hissing of the train
Pop worked for the railroad
and now is taking us to a strange new land
Daylight rolls into night.
while the train leaves another station
we ride
our mom left before us
to a border town near, Mexico
where the Marshall’s our uncle
destination’s sure to bring us sorrow!
Daylight rolls into night.
while the train leaves another station
we ride
my brother my two sisters
follow on this, ghostly moonlit ride
Pop travels on, to get work
in an Arizona silver mine
Daylight rolls into night.
while the train leaves another station
we ride
to where the heat is unbearable
and the wind blows dust just like carousels
we wake up to thunder
and a feeling of loneliness
Daylight rolls into night.
while the train leaves the station
without us
This Desert Place© 2018
we were just southern girls with ribbons
and curls
I was the middle of three sisters
My baby brother will never know his mother!
feeling alone on a ranch just north of the
border, of Mexico
Years go by pop’s gone, most of the time
My older sister has gone, to live with family in Tucson
While I was left in charged of my brother
and sister
in a dangerous place like this a smile
is just a whisper
of some forgotten days, As I
Find my place, and
I give grace, for this
desert space
I now call home
Living in some boarder house, out west!
Feeling alone on this ranch with outlaws
at the fence
one summer I killed 30 rattlers and skinned
them to dry
and sold them for hatbands to cowboys as
they rode by our little enterprise! As I
Find my place, and
I give grace, for this
desert space
I now call home
on an old gray mare I’d ride away
to a valley of coyotes in a territory state
I’d sing as loud as I could to the red hills of
Bisbee
just a 10 year old kid from the hills of
Kentucky, but now I’m here
I’m a belle on the border, who
takes this steed and rides away
I am a pioneer
and I sing to the wind
and the call of the wild
and my desert home, As I
Find my place, and
I give grace, for this
desert space
I now call home
Hook Your Chin To A Star! 2019
like a band of gypsies
from the hills of Kentucky
I grew so weary of the road
I was a young mother
my husband a miner
I wanted to make us a home
I moved 47 times in 37 years!
it was time to settle down
one more move from the desert to the sea
one more town to town
once was a belle on the boarder
married sister’s husband’s brother
back then that’s just what you did
hard times were upon us
from Tucson to Santa Barbara
just as the depression hit
Keep your head up high and
hook your chin to a star
The legacy of family, grows
strong in who we are
let me tell you some stories
Of desert Territories
in the shade of this avocado tree
I’m a prayerful strong women
In this beautiful garden
I planted everything you see!
Keep your head up high and
hook your chin to a star
The legacy of family, grows
strong in who we are
I married for survival, And the love of family
We made a life in this tourist town
on a loveless promise so that
you could live your dreams
sometimes you’ll feel like shutting down,
Keep your head up high and
hook your chin to a star
The legacy of family, grows
strong in who we are
For America © 2017
too many tales to un-tangle
too many mountains to un-climb
to many things we need to tend to
too many times we are unkind
We’re all sons and daughters
swinging left and right,
just like an Eagle we need
both wings to fly
For America
We all share a common history
we put a man on the moon
we’re making cures for cancer
explored the great outdoors
We’re all sons and daughters
going left and right, but
just like an Eagle we need
both wings to fly
For America
We could fly so high, we all have the right,
to fly .
In the past there was depression
and the future we never see
I try to focus my attention
on the lines of my face
We’re all son’s and daughters
swinging left and right,
just like an Eagle we need
both wings to fly
for America
