Saturdays in the Country

On Saturdays we did little work.

We would work in the mornings, but

As noon approached

We would quit for the week, and

Perform our seasonal office—

Unhitching the team, putting up the hoes,

Hanging up the cotton sacks.

Then we would wash up, and

After eating we would dress nicely, and

My father would hitch a ride to Hickory

To play Pitch with his buddies, and

Very probably dip into a flask of port

To enter more fully into the Saturday spirit.

 Then when afternoon declined,

The flatbed tractor-trailer truck

Would come and take us to town

To see the double-feature of westerns.

On Saturdays we did little work.

--January 12, 2013