Mary
Jenkins
lived about a half a mile from town
Not too far, not too near, but in between
She lived in a big white house
with flowers in the yard
Ivy climbing up the window screen
One morning when the old gray rooster
crowed the coming dawn
Mary
Jenkins rose up from her bed
She dressed in aid and went outside
to do her daily chores
To milk the cows and get the
chickens fed
She gathered eggs, slopped the hogs,
went out to the barn
Pitched up the sorrel and the roam
Then she climbed into her buggy
and gave the reins a flick
Rode toward the depot all alone
She waited for an hour and the
train came a -rollin' in
She backed the team into the station yard
And a coffin wasn't loaded
in place to board her rig
She rode back to her farm without
a word
She hired some boys to dig the grave
and help her with the box
While the heat of the noonday
danced around
She took off the flag and metal
that fastened to the lid
Filled the hole and stuck
the cross into the ground
Then she sat down in her rocking
chair to rest a little while
And once again by candlelight she read
That let ter with the solemn words
and fancy foreign names
Then she rocked a while, prayed,
put out the light, and went to bed