Summer Hired Hand, 1926

He came from Osage County
I remember he had warm brown eyes
and was from a hard motherless family
Somehow he turned out gentle and
wise for fifteen and worked like a beaver

Mama took him in like a son
asked about his eating habits
what he liked and didn't like

"About breakfast" he answered politely
"Don't give me no shredded wheat
or puffed rice
That is food for city folks
Just fry me two eggs over once
and give me a few biscuits

"I am real easy to please
Just don't shake me out no
haystack cereal from a box"

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.