"1929"

 

News would ramble

Always

Our background noise

We swallowed paste

Mixed with age

Before even the sun

Opened her eyes.

I pretended

Like we could afford sugar.  

 

I almost didn’t hear the

President

Though the words that fell

Out of his mouth sounded

Reassuring

His voice sounded

Worried.

 

Mister Hoover spoke

About a Tuesday that’s black

About a street called Wall

And about stocks

And banks and jobs.

Didn’t care until Mama

Snapped off the noise.

 

Late at night

I was supposed to sleep.

Couldn’t.

Not the night

I heard Papa say

That he didn’t have a job no more.

It meant no more money.

Mama didn’t need to

Tell me that.

 

Then the dust came.

And the rain stopped.

 

The corn dried up

And blew away.

Free.

Too bad it didn’t blow us

Away too.

 

New seed was just

“Too damn expensive”

With no job.

And what did it matter?

There wasn't rain anyway.

 

We watched the dust swallow

Old Mister Walter.

Filled him up inside

Because he refused to come in off

That creaky chair

 

He called to us

“Kansas has it worst

With the dust an’ all.”

I know, Mister Walter.

Too bad we lived

In Kansas.

 

Even with the door closed

And the dishes turned

We had to eat

Fast

Or the dust would claim it first.

Even so

We learned how to survive on dust.