Thoughts of Mother's kitchen
Often drift through my mind
The wonderful aromas there
Her loving heart so kind
A bubbling pot of pinto beans
The cornbread golden brown
Were staples in our daily lives
Hers was the best around
Rice pudding in the gravy bowl
Browned meringue in little swirls
Tiny beads of sugared moisture formed
And they looked like precious pearls
Sometimes, we'd have fried chicken
And nary a part was wasted
Reese liked the back; Cheryl ate the neck
How good that chicken tasted
It took a whole lot of cooking
To keep nine bellies filled
When Mother made her blackberry cake
Nine people sure were thrilled
Mother did lots of baking too
And taught the girls to cook
Most of her recipes were in her head
And never came from any book
It excited her to get a new cook stove
A kitchen table or a linoleum rug
Our house had no running water
But that old kitchen was clean and snug
We didn't have a huge variety
But we always had enough
Our dear Daddy worked so hard
And still the times were rough
In the summertime, we had the garden
And it gave us lots more to eat
Nobody cooked vegetables like Mother
Gritted bread was a family treat
