|
My mother,C.L Blankenship, is the coauthor of our new book, "Poodlums, Boogeymen and Booglers." Her poem "Dora" is one of my favorite poems and I would like to share it with our readers.
Dora
A mother and father’s greatest dread
In a country so far away,
Was when the bandit horseman rode through
And took the young girls as prey.
Dora was lucky, her mom hid her well
And awaited ‘till they rode on their way.
Feeling lucky, that time, the crops were left,
Not destroyed, that fateful day.
Some folks were not lucky, their girls were gone,
Swooped up as the horseman passed through.
To some a relief to see them ride off,
But left others with hearts broke in two.
The parents of these ill-fated girls
Had good reason for so much pain.
They knew, for a fact, that in such ruthless hands,
They would never come home again.
Some time had passed, Dora was wed
To a young hardworking farmhand.
A dowry was given to this lucky man,
A journey to a wonderful land.
Their families said their tearful good-byes,
They feared it would be the last time.
That they would ever meet again,
When they left their people behind.
This young married couple from over seas
Finally came to their journey’s end.
They were happy to be, in the Land of the Free
And start life over again.
They learned to speak the language well,
Studied what had to be learned.
Took the test for citizenship
And passed, but it was hard earned.
Farmers at heart they worked the land
Until the job was done.
They moved on from state to state
Looking for a place to call home.
They ended with six children to raise
In a place called Chicago Town,
But Dora had problems with a husband who drank,
She was a mother afraid for her young.
No longer able to put up with a drunk,
Stealing what little she had.
He was angry with her, but went on his way,
His threats were nothing but bad.
He vowed to return and end her life
And the lives of her children as well.
He made good on his threat and when he returned,
He put her through some kind of hell!
Before he broke in, she hid all her young
And planned to face him alone.
But the eldest would not stay hidden for long,
A mom and her girl faced his gun.
He shot them both, figured they were gone,
Then put the gun to his head.
A shot rang out, he fell to the floor,
In a moment he was dead.
His aim wasn’t good, the two that were shot,
Recovered in a hospital bed.
Thankful, they wouldn’t live in fear
Thankful, to have nothing to dread.
Dora worked two jobs each and every day,
Her eldest took care of the rest.
Made sure her siblings were clean and fed
And with schooling she did her best.
Dora’s teeth went bad, everyone loose
But she hadn’t a dime to spare.
She sat down one day, pulled them all out,
Passed out on the kitchen chair.
She had the guts that it took to survive
There was never an easy way.
But this lady managed to deal with life’s blows,
And made it through hard times each day.
To make matters worse the depression hit,
She lost both of her jobs and her pay.
Dora managed a job with a Doc and his wife,
Did their cooking and cleaning each day.
Never did a day go by
That her family went without bread.
She saw to it they had clothes to wear
And a rooftop over their heads.
Dora married once more, she thought she did right,
But it was doomed from the very start.
He fought with her children every day,
It finally came time for them to part.
She relaxed some when her children were grown,
They helped with financial needs.
It was about time, she needed the rest
From the burdens of life’s wicked deeds.
The cruel hand of fate was not finished by far,
More heartaches would plague her once more.
One of her sons died some time ago
And her second was at death’s back door.
Again she had to pull out the knife
That fate had stuck in her heart.
She pulled herself up, and stuck out her chin
Always doing more than her part.
Dora’s youngest, my Mom and her spouse, my Dad,
Had to go their separate ways.
My Mom was frail and in very poor health
That left me for another to raise.
When Dora was at her mid-life time,
Another burden she took on.
It was her grandchild, she made the choice
She’s my Grandma, my Mom!
Now I am in the winter of life
And someday from this life I’ll part.
My Dora, I know you’ll be waiting for me,
For now, you’ll remain in my heart.
C.L. Blankenship-©2006
Your comments are always welcome.
You can email me at: poodlums@gmail.com |