Today I went back to the old homeplace again
To visit the memories that I love so
To look again at the old house that's falling down
Where I grew up so many long years ago

There's an old abandoned truck sitting there
It looks at peace with all the rest
Broken windows and doors that are gone
And a fence that's falling down as if in protest

There's vines growing up the side of the house
Meandering through the open windows and cracks
An old woodpile with logs that are rotting away
And laying with them is the head of an old axe

I stand there on the road looking up at all of this
Remembering how it looked all those years ago
With love and laughter inside those rotting walls
And a family so gentle and sweet, that I loved so

I see a child playing out back near the barn
Looking under everything for an old hen's nest
She knew if she found one with baby chicks
She'd play with them, though she'd be an unwelcome guest

Mama hen would peck her hands so hard
Till sometimes they would bleed
But she didn't care about that she just kept on
And once in awhile she would succeed!

The house was sitting about midway up a hill
And the road out front was a great place
To ride her bike all the way down to the bottom
Competing with the champs on an imaginary race

And supper time was the best time of the day
As grandma would stand there in the back door
And call out to her to come in and wash up
Tomorrow there would be time for more

It wasn't all play and no work either
She had lots of chores to do each day
Those came before she could do anything else
But once in awhile she'd be lured to sneak away!

Yes, today I went back to the old homeplace again
To visit the memories that I love so
To look again at the old house that's falling down
Where I grew up so many long years ago

Melva
2009 October 06

Photo: (1944) My grandparents home place in Smith Hollow, not far from Abingdon, Virginia just a couple miles before the Tennessee border.