Ed Stover
THE REAL DEAL
It was the summer of 1950
and I had just turned 10 years old
when my father took us to Canada
to see Niagara Falls.
I remember we took a boat ride
on The Maid of the Mist
right up to the foot of the falls
and Mom took a picture of Dad
and my little sisters and me
in our spray-drenched slickers
and I remember the explosion
of water and Dad shouting:
“Wow, this is the real deal!”
Then we drove home to Indiana
where Dad told us he had no job,
no money, and therefore we had no home.
What we had was an auction,
all our furniture out in the yard,
Dad cursing into his whiskey,
Mom crying into a hankie,
my sisters confused, and I thought:
Wow! This is the real deal!
Leon Petty
De Ready De Red
What can I do about the world
when NAZIs are in the henhouse
when darkness is at the edge of town
de ready de ready de red
The weasels are coming
The weasels are coming
de ready de ready de ready de red
With ding they come
With dong they come
With ding with dong
and wrong with wrong
de ready de ready de ding de dong
What’s wrong with the world
de ready de red
My neighbors know that “Might is Right!”
red I, red sky, thy red be done
de ready de ready de ready de red
The truth has gone
from mind and mind and mind and mind
Gone with the cows
the truth has gone
and their flies have lit on everyone
Go red my son
And what shall we do with Democracy dead
de ready de ready de red