Solution

I knew Neva's Pentecostal parents
opposed the engagement because
her fiancé had not been saved

and made it clear to them
he had no desire to be saved
which caused them to predict
disaster for their daughter

Yet Neva with the mousy hair
learned to make
her marriage work
(as she related to me looking back)

When Clete shaved he cussed the world
and everyone in it
somehow it helped him start his day
but it shocked the life out of her

She started taking her coffee outside
and listening to the birds for half an hour
When she returned to the house
Clete was cleanshaven and happy
and ready for two hard-fried eggs

"It wasn't really hard" Neva explained
"once I learned how to handle him"

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.