Weather-beaten, tall and thin,
piercing eyes, tight-lipped grin;
born upon a rough frontier,
there wasn’t much he’d learned to fear.
From a child, his chore was set,
when hunt succeeded, fam’ly et;
his job to stock the stewing pot,
in youth became an expert shot.
Lived near Indians, was their friend;
wounds in war, yet not the end;
Great Depression, Dust Bowl woes,
just start again, that’s how it goes.
From his little mountain home
he loved to hike and fish and roam.
Two sons-in-law were city boys,
educated, full of poise.
“Come on lads, the finest trout
you’ll ever taste live hereabout!”
Showed them to his fav’rite spot,
said he’d cook up all they caught.
In the bonfire’s hottest flame,
black iron skillet, red became;
hungry slickers watched, amazed,
withdrawn, a little, from the blaze.
He took a fish and threw it in,
flipped it once, when charred its skin;
served it up to his new kin,
eyes and head and guts and fin.
“Grab a fork and let’s say grace!”
Content to sit and watch each face,
the baffled look they cast between,
a-hoping that he hadn’t seen;
They, manly-fashion, dug on in,
they should-a known, by growing grin
then grand guffaw at retching heaves ~
a seasoned joker trumps naives!
Author notes
et: past tense of eat; ate.
naive: credulous or unsuspecting
My Grandpa grew up on the Cherokee Strip, and was the family huntsman from about age 5, being too small to do the heavy work of the homestead. When he was successful, his family ate well. An expert shot, trapper and fisherman, he was accused of “being able to shoot a pheasant on the back side of a tree”.
He had an odd sense of humor...yes, the story is true!
A contest entry
- DRY LINE FEVER by DrunkenRam.
525 points, ended March 3, 3 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Fishing options by bones7.
500 points, ended June 10, 9 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 15 of 15
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Grandpa was quite a character and a heck of a sportsman! The word useage as well as great imagery, perfected this write.
thanks for sharing
Blessings,
Sassy
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I think I would have liked that guy, sounds like good fun.
this is really nice piece, thanks for entering it into my contest.
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Thank you, DrunkenRam, for the comment and clappies. He was a real man's man. I believe you would have liked him. He was a man of quiet understatement and integrity. His sense of humor ran deep, but was just a bit twisted
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Excellent write! Language you used fits this to a T. Wonderful story, imagery, rhythm and rhyme! Love it!
Real man's sushi.
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Thank you, Freed by Mercy! Absolutely love your "Real man's sushi!"
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So funny! Brilliantly told with great rhyme and flow, and love the author's notes too. Your grandpa sounds like quite a character! That trick would have worked on me too, I'm a very naive city slicker. Yuck!
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Thank you, Mallig! Certainly, 'Yuck' would be the beginning...
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Excellent write
I really enjoyed this poem. Your imagery is very good. I could almost picture it all in my mind 
Best of luck in this contest 
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Thank you, YoursTrulyJulie!
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What a great story. Grandpa is quite endearing. I love his spunk and spirit. Didn't bother to gut the fish, huh? Poor slickers! Must have really loved Grandpa's daughters.
A wonderful tale with excellent rhyme and meter.
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Thank you, ten! Yes, the outside was charred, the inner flesh overdone to progressively underdone, and the guts just warmed...
They ate nothing he gave them the rest of the overnighter outing, and returned home very hungry and with new concepts of "outdoorsmen!"
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Your rhythm in this piece is nearly perfect. There are really now awkward reading lines here. I also like the rhyme it is natural and unforced lending to a brilliant and even natural flow. Rhythm and rhyme are excellent!
The story is quite interesting and I like the way you used some colloquial terminology to create the voice of this piece. Took me a moment to understand the last line but it seems to me to be saying that he had pulled a practical joke on these two "slickers" without them realizing it.
This is a very enjoyable read!
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Thank you so much for your comment, Everwind Rising! You are absolutely correct, he was a life-long practical joker. I have made alteration to try to make that point more strongly. Thank you, thank you for helping me see it was in need of clarifying!
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oh Diane...
oh my word...
this is just stunning rhyme and storytelling combined into one party of a poem...
EXCELLENT on every level...
wow...I've not visited a poem with such amazing rhyme in a long while...your meter is wonderful...
I love this write and it is destined for the jewelry box indeed!!!
you are a master at weaving stories seamlessly into your writes!
Blessings! Tammy
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Thank you, Tammy! I really should write about his horses and the electric fence...his sense of humor was unlike anyone else's I've ever known. And I always knew he loved us grandkids. He built swingsets and sandboxes and other things, just for us. Although he teased me badly once about a loose tooth...
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