Courting Music

Cousin Mick was my favorite
a good sharing Okie boy
I remember he saved his peach picking
money and bought a battery-operated
radio from Monkey Ward

Through his open door we could hear
Little Richard
and Fats Domino--
Jerry Lee Lewis
nearly drove Uncle Doc crazy

About that time we began to hear
Les Paul and Mary Ford
How High the Moon
Blue Skies
Caravan

then one evening we heard
"Take my hand
and we're halfway there"

This last song caused Uncle Doс
to get a faraway look in his eyes
"Now that's what I call
courting music" he said

went to his bedroom
and brought Aunt Stacey's old fringed shawl
laid it across the back of his recliner
and sat down with his head against it

Notes

McDaniel, Wilma. (2001) Borrowed Coats. Hanging Loose Press, Brooklyn, New York.
Courtesy University of California, Merced Library. Copyright owned by the Regents of the University of California.