Down to the Dust (audio added) Options

[RC James]

audio take on the poem


https://soundcloud.com/rc-james-user841120068/z0000227


Ain’ nuthin’ left here ‘cep
six uv us an’ dry stahks ‘a corn.
We’re up ta movin west
soon as I sort out the T-Ford.
Jenny, ma wife, is set to
have anuther to make us seven.
Got some taters an’ dry beans
in the root cellah, but not much
beyon’ that, relyin’ on the Lord
to provide a way through the storm.
Ah’m proud of the chilren, they got
a strenth beyon’ anything I known.
When jedgement day comes it won’
be no surprise, we alreddy been jedged
an’ been found holdin’ the strenth
of spirits who can survive culamity
and beyond, way beyond what we thought
we could hold in that handful of dust.

[Larry]

Hi RC,

I don't get over here to Seren's much but stumbled across your post and the vernacular reminded me a lot of how my Grandpa talked. He was from Oklahoma and went through the Dust Bowl but stuck it out somehow.

I saw only two tiny nits which you might consider correcting: L8 and L12 both begin capitalized with no period end-stop in the prior line. It's no big deal so it really doesn't matter but changing them would be grammatically correct.

My dad was a young man back then and he told me stories about how rough it was when we started to complain about how rough we had it in the early 50's. It really put a different perspective on things and made us appreciate how much we were blessed. Thanks for the memories!

Larry