Southern Haiku

Ham bone stripped naked,

Collards spun in the washer;

Southern Spring cleaning.

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There’ll be hell to pay,

Somebody done ate the biscuits;

Unleavened potluck.

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You can keep your “facts,”

Lightning strikes from the ground up;

Granddaddy said so.

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The lifelong neighbor,

We called him Uncle Daddy;

Honorific kin.

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Summer winds don’t lie,

Polecats don’t mix with coondogs;

Quick! Close the windows!

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Hot-blooded Baptist,

She done mooned the preacher man;

Bleached-blonde backslider.

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Arkansas weather,

All four seasons in one week;

Bring shoes just in case.

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Two ears and three toes,

I said, “Leave that critter be;”

Earl wouldn’t listen.

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She forgets her name,

Pines, now tall, remember her;

They share the same roots.

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Daddy was our rock;

Nobody knew but the dog,

That even stones cry.