Saturday, December 26, 2009
Son of a Gunn
Here is a good example of the "accidents" that keep happening to me. I received this poem from a Matthews cousin-in-law, and only had to add an "n" to Son of a Gun to make it fit our family perfectly, even the part about Daddy playing the fiddle. I sent it out to my e-mail list and got more positive responses than from any of my own poetry. The author is that prolific writer, Anonymous, and if anyone knows where it originated, please let me know.
Merry Christmas to All!
'Twas the night before Christmas
& out on the ranch
The pond was froze over
& so was the branch.
The snow was piled up
belly-deep to a mule.
The kids were all home
on vacation from school,
And happier young folks
you never did see-
Just all sprawled around
a-watchin' TV.
Then suddenly, some time
around 8 o'clock,
There came a surprise
that gave them a shock!
The power went off,
the TV went dead!
When Grandpa came in
from out in the shed
With an armload of wood,
the house was all dark.
"Just what I expected,"
they heard him remark.
"Them power line wires
must be down from the snow.
Seems sorta like times
on the ranch long ago."
"I'll hunt up some candles,"
said Mom. "With their light,
And the fireplace, I reckon
we'll make out all right."
The teen-agers seemed
all enveloped in gloom.
Then Grandpa came back
from a trip to his room,
Uncased his old fiddle
& started to play
That old Christmas song
about bells on a sleigh.
Mom started to sing,
& 1st thing they knew
Both Pop & the kids
were all singing it, too.
They sang Christmas carols,
they sang "Holy Night,"
Their eyes all a-shine
in the ruddy firelight.
They played some charades
Mom recalled from her youth,
And Pop read a passage
from God's Book of Truth.
They stayed up till midnight-
and, would you believe,
The youngsters agreed
'twas a fine Christmas Eve.
Grandpa rose early,
some time before dawn;
And when the kids wakened,
the power was on.
"The power company sure got
the line repaired quick,"
Said Grandpa - & no one
suspected his trick.
Last night, for the sake of
some old-fashioned fun,
He had pulled the main switch -
the old Son-of-a-Gunn!
Cora Gail Gunn Trent
www.cgtrent.com
cgtrent@att.net
'Twas the night before Christmas
& out on the ranch
The pond was froze over
& so was the branch.
The snow was piled up
belly-deep to a mule.
The kids were all home
on vacation from school,
And happier young folks
you never did see-
Just all sprawled around
a-watchin' TV.
Then suddenly, some time
around 8 o'clock,
There came a surprise
that gave them a shock!
The power went off,
the TV went dead!
When Grandpa came in
from out in the shed
With an armload of wood,
the house was all dark.
"Just what I expected,"
they heard him remark.
"Them power line wires
must be down from the snow.
Seems sorta like times
on the ranch long ago."
"I'll hunt up some candles,"
said Mom. "With their light,
And the fireplace, I reckon
we'll make out all right."
The teen-agers seemed
all enveloped in gloom.
Then Grandpa came back
from a trip to his room,
Uncased his old fiddle
& started to play
That old Christmas song
about bells on a sleigh.
Mom started to sing,
& 1st thing they knew
Both Pop & the kids
were all singing it, too.
They sang Christmas carols,
they sang "Holy Night,"
Their eyes all a-shine
in the ruddy firelight.
They played some charades
Mom recalled from her youth,
And Pop read a passage
from God's Book of Truth.
They stayed up till midnight-
and, would you believe,
The youngsters agreed
'twas a fine Christmas Eve.
Grandpa rose early,
some time before dawn;
And when the kids wakened,
the power was on.
"The power company sure got
the line repaired quick,"
Said Grandpa - & no one
suspected his trick.
Last night, for the sake of
some old-fashioned fun,
He had pulled the main switch -
the old Son-of-a-Gunn!
Cora Gail Gunn Trent
www.cgtrent.com
cgtrent@att.net
