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A poem from the memoir "He Holds The Sparrow". 
by Fran Grubb. 
 
True account of a  kidnapped child, taken from an orphanage by an escaped convict in Greenwood South Carolina in 1958.  An alcoholic migrant worker stole Frances and her sister from Connie Maxwell Children's Home and put them in the cotton fields to work. This is one poem from her book.

 

                              Cotton Fields And Faith
 
Picking cotton for the farmer,
 feeling dirty sad and low.
Blistering sun high in the heaven.
Cannot let my feelings show.
Drag the cotton sack behind me
feels so heavy on my back.
I dream of better days and freedom,
as I pick and fill the sack.
My swollen hands are cracked and bleeding,
from the sharpness of the boles.
Blood stains white cotton as I pick it,
with each handful that I hold.
From dawn to dusk out here we labor,
until too dark for me to see.
The farmer waits up at the trailer,
to weigh my cotton sack for me.
As I leave field and sack behind me. 
Slowly now I walk alone.
To a sad and shabby dwelling,
The farmers shack that we call home.
Not to a bed or clean white linen.
Frayed dirty quilts lay on the floor
And a meager meal to share with,
the little sister I adore.
My sister's cowering in the corner
as I walk inside the door.
Horror once again assaults me
mama's bleeding, daddy roars.
whiskey breath and heavy footfalls
make me turn around to see
the face of terror that's my father
screaming angry words at me
when at last the whiskey takes him
 to the sleep for which we pray
Holding on to one another,
we two sisters kneel to pray
Whispering quietly in the darkness,
 to the Lord above we say
Please God give us strength and courage,
just to face another day.
God gave us strength to face each peril.
With his love he lit our day.
We could not have faced the horror
without his light to guide our way.
We knew he'd free us from our prison
He always lights our darkest roads
God kept us safe and gave us courage
Jesus carried our heavy load.
So the cotton sack though heavy
and the terror of each night
Did not ever break our spirit
We kept Jesus in our sight.
 

 

 Posted 2/22/2009