In Johnson Bottom, the chicken house
Served more than its usual purpose
When we didn't have any chickens
It became a good playhouse for us
Lena and I scrubbed it inside and out
With lots of elbow grease and bleach
We cleaned up poop and chicken lice
Every nook and cranny we'd reach
After all that cleaning and scraping was done
We knew our playhouse needed paint
Often sneaking a gallon of Mother's whitewash
And we never did hear a complaint
I remember the good times we had in there
Playing store and putting on shows
We hung up a curtain and built a stage
And dressed in our parents' clothes
Once I picked seeds from a bag of rice
And planted them in a coffee can
Then set them on the roof of the chicken house
And endeavored to grow rice like Japan
I pictured myself as a rich little girl
And was full of dreams and ambition
Alas, my rice-growing days soon ended
That fantasy never came to fruition
In the lane that ran by the back of our house
Two women had a knock down fight
The boys sat atop the chicken house
And got a really good view of the sight
It didn't take a lot to make us happy
We didn't have much reason to grouse
My mind wanders back to the fun we had
In that ramshackle chicken house
Kathleen McCoy EldridgeŠ
May 28, 2006
All Rights Reserved
"Chicken Dance" Sequenced by Don Carroll Midi Studio Consortium
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