Family Traditions
Family Traditions sugggest that
my great uncle killed the last bear
in the county on Sewell Mountain.
Family tradition suggests that
my great uncle killed the last deer where
Winfrey’s rock wrecked steamboats again
and again on Cumberland river.
The American hero, Sgt. York, who
was my uncle’s uncle in Tennessee,
living near the three forks of Wolf River,
killed the last red wolf to travel through
his farm at the bee tree.
This morning a black bear crossed the
hay field, between rolls of hay,
and a fawn hides in the fencerow,
having no knowledge of family
traditions. I expect some day
a red wolf will make tracks in winter snow.
9 thoughts on "Family Traditions"
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Loved the humor!
love the play with the family tall tales
This is great! Good ending
Delightful play on words and family lore
nice poem, now there’ll be new tales of the Great Return
Where would we be without family stories and legends?
Fantastic poem
glad you didn’t carry on family tradition
. . .and what was old is new again. Loved the way you illustrated this truth for us.