Supper's ready and Pa ain't around
When I yell at him, he claims he don't hear
Not a lotta hitch left in his git-along
Old geezer's always bringin' up the rear

He's probably oglin' the girls in the catalog
In the outhouse just down the path
Gotta hurry and get supper over with
And heat the water for our Saturday baths

He thinks I don't know what he does
When he don't wanna hear me a-callin'
Turns the volume down on his hearin' aid
But purty soon, he comes a-crawlin'

Sometimes, I feel like lettin' him starve
Though I reckon it ain't very nice
But I ain't got enough breath to waste
To spend on chewin' my cabbage twice

Though I know the old fool can hear me
I gotta wait until he comes in to eat
If he takes too long, my vittles get cold
'Cause it's his turn to use the teeth

Poor thing's gettin' old and feeble
And I shore ain't trailin' far behind
Better keep him 'cause we're all we got
Though I'm losin' what's left of my mind

We been together nigh on to sixty years
Done forgot what romance was like
If he pats me on the knee every month or two
He thinks I oughta be a-flyin' high

Can't seem to get on the same wave length
When I'm ziggin', Pa's always zaggin'
In the long ago days when he could light my fire
We shore set the neighbor's tongues to waggin'

Them days is gone; we're too old to cuddle
Ain't no fire left, not even a cinder
But I wouldn't trade Pa for nobody else
'Cause, to me, he'll always be a winner

We're just a couple of old fossils
And we always seem to manage somehow
But upon my honor, if Pa croaks before me
I'm gonna yell, "Can you hear me now?"

Kathleen McCoy EldridgeŠ
August 23, 2007
All Rights Reserved
E-mail
Website