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Living Off the Land
It's right hard to think about it.
Seems like all my mind's on the graveyards.
Pa said, "Come to see me, I won't be here long."
I think of things I'd like to do.
Now my back muscles ache.
Left leg's shorter than the other.
Used to be a strong man—pick up 500 pounds with my back,
almost.
Back when I came along, everybody used to wrestle, jump—
see who could do the most work.
Now we study money.
All the big apple orchards are gone.
Insects so bad, nobody has any fruit—
peach trees, old horse apples
that came from Civil War days.
I remember the Indian and Clear-seed peach.
Hedgerows were loaded with big goose plums.
They were strewed all around the woods.
Old folks planted them for hogs to eat.
Traps in the creek.
Fish would slide over the wooden fingers.
All that, gone.
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