Nasturtiums

For me, the nasturtiums helped so much,
During the Hungry Thirties, when life was such,
A constant supply, of dirt, dust and grime,
Things to destroy, my young, sensitive mind!
I can still see the rutted road, beside the small hills,
Tiny unpainted house....nothing there, but chills!
Ugly, grey barn...loose boards, bleached and cracked,
Just in front, of the rusty, train track!
Fly paper.....dancing....in the soft breeze,
Stale, kitchen odours, that did not please!
Rows of beets, carrots, peas and sweet corn,
Dry! Choked by weeds! Looking so forlorn!
Tuberculosis and death, for so many,
Comforts? Pleasant days? There just weren't any!!
Underfed! Overworked! Ill and depressed!
The Great Depression gave us nothing...just stress!
On the sheltered side, of that humble home,
Looking so colourful....and so alone,
An ultimate mockery, with such contrast,
To the drab building and fields, of dead grass,
Was a patch, of nasturtiums, trying hard to survive,
But, without water and attention, they eventually died!
The dusty, old roads and sagging house are still there!
A few spindly-legged sandpipers, who'll live anywhere,
The ghosts, of the thirties, have all moved on,
Nature replaces, all of the dreams, that went wrong!

Pauline Banning

W4-1045-98-D14

This is not MY story, it was one, that was told by someone, who lived
through the thirties. I simply put
 myself, in her shoes and included the word pictures, that were so vivid in
her mind,  many years later.

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