Even During "Good Wars" Parents Write Back

The two poems published here today are from that ever illuminating yellow folder handed down to me and stashed away. They come from my grandmother’s (Nana’s) grandfather, I believe. They are by G.R. Walker, a man who lived and farmed and saw his sons drafted into WWI. This detail is known because whoever typed these out on their thin pages has, in parenthesis (Written after his son was drafted in WWI). I chose these two poems out of about 5 because of how true they still resonate today. Wars have not stopped and feelings, however patriotic or proud, never prevented parents from wanting their brave kids from entering into any danger zone. The world is still at war and I think G.R. Walker would not be happy to know this.

These two poems were written in the early 1900’s, the first in 1915 and the second in 1917 (again, according to the leafy thin type paper along with notes written by those who typed them), and while they are not famous war poems, I think they are lovely and I’m proud to say that someone in my family was writing poetry during war time and feeling and thinking through it all. I may not always want to acknowledge that the fruit falls near the tree, in this case, I’m proud to have the nectar near.

Our Treasures

If the world would stop its fighting
And live more peacefully;
There would be hope in this present life,
Of Joy through eternity.

But when we lay our treasures up
On the earth, it will appeal
To other men of sinful lust,
Our treasures for to steal.

Then if we would be happy
The advice to us is given;
Lay not our treasures up on earth
But lay them up on heaven.
(August 5, 1915)

The Race

One day while sitting on the back
Of my mule in old Missouri State,
I saw a race I’ll ne’er forget
Between a frog and a snake.

The mule was drinking from a pond
With tall vaks standing near
When all at once his head went up
In a state of nervous fear,
For a rustling cracking noise hand started in the rear.

I looked behind and what I saw
Was a frong a jumping high
And the snake was coming fast
To catch him, he did try.
Before the frog could reach the pond
That we were standing by.

The frog was jumping for his life
The snake was for his dinner!
The frog saw safety in the pond
From that most wicked sinner
And I am glad here to record
The frog he was the winner.
(March 23, 1917)