Hey all,
These first two are an interpretation of Forestville, MN in the 1890's. The third one is about Buddy Holly. I hope you like them.
A Moment With Nellie
A late 19th century house servant, yes
but she cooks better than the old maid.
Hungry gentlemen like myself
come in from the fields.
She can cook six meals every day.
I make it a point to finish her
every fried tomato
every undercooked potato and
every last piece of raisin pie.
Whether precisely measuring flour for bread
or decorating the kitchen table,
I notice her every action.
I'm usually the last gentleman to leave
her kitchen.
Today she smiled at me.
No one else was in the room.
Declining in 1899
It's a good job, I am content with the $1 per day, and though the town is smaller than it once was, I am still happy here. I was in the fields all day shocking corn with the draft horses and you know, only during harvest time do I enjoy the sunsets in Forestville. The locals sitting on the porch eating tin wedding cake and drinking coffee are constant during this time of year. I know everyone here and they know my shyness only exists on my exterior. I don't hold back here, I can say what I want, within good taste mind you. The garden looks vibrant and maintained in this valley surrounded by oak. The river doesn't power the rundown mills anymore, but we are reminded by the sound of its current. Spare the greed and spoil the humble-natured; all 30 of us are spoiled with a good-spirited community. Maybe, when the smaller something gets, the more it is appreciated. I am afraid of what neighboring Spring Valley does with their 1,000 plus residents. Do they ignore eachother and live in selfishness? Do they even appreciate the railroad and the cheap prices it brings to their village? Do they have enough space to relax when the day is through? (long pause and a sigh). Well, I'll say with the trapped dirt under my suspenders, the band playing old union songs, the sun shying behind the tree line, her blushing skin and smile off in the distance; yeah, I thrive in this declining town.
Mankato Winter, 1959
They left for Moorhead
8 days after they played their radio hits
where the outside walls were of stucco and pink.
With no carpet, just dance floor
teenagers and college students crowded even the doors
of the Kato Ballroom on January 25, 1959.
They played on Chestnut Street
to a packed crowd ,
and for a dollar fifty you could see
The Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens
and Buddy Holly,
on the tour called
the Winter Dance Party.
After playing on that snowy Sunday, their next stop
Eau Claire, then Montevideo then St. Paul.
Day after day, they played another town until
the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake on February 2nd.
Monday night for a dollar twenty-five.
"Dress right to feel right," written on the left
of the billboard.
The next day, Moorhead received the bus
but not the plane
while Buddy's guitar neck
angled inches
above Iowa snow.
