Poems include: The Runner by Nancy Hendricks and The Modern Atlas by Ina Marshall

Hendricks, Nancy

Marshall, Ina

English

Digital Commons @ Butler University

20 MANUSCRIPTStaining the small tots by taking out his false teeth and snappingthem in the air to the accompaniment of childish shrieks andgiggles.Before leaving, I took my customary trip to the barn, whereI tried to hold my breath to avoid the smell, but where I hada great deal of fun staring back at the cows and climbing inand out of a dilapidated old carriage. Meanwhile my pare~lts'were in the house, extending and accepting invitations WIthno intent of fulfilling them.It was not long then before we were again on the road,Mother and Dad reminiscing about reunions of the past; mysisters praying they would be home in time for evening dates;Grandmother smiling peacefully with the satisfaction perhapsonly the old can feel; and I, with a boy's healthy appetite,longing for just one more piece of cake.The RunnerBehind him on the road some toil, but fewCan match his pace. The clarri'r ing crowd grows shrillAs he, his burden lizht ascends the hill'Tl to. , ,. ley strew palm fronds upon the avenue.;he others when they pass run this same road,But nature's will has not ordained their fateTo l.ead .them yet to wreathes; they plod and waitUntil this power will deign to lift their load.He forces. on, but slower, now his back~ b.ent, hIS.heart grown weary with new pounds,Ofhi le to hIS throbbi:lg ears the cadence soundsH steady steps, famIliar with their pack.Be crosses last and pleads his load was ereat-c-ut all .' 1 . to.wei e JUC ged and all had equal weight.-N ancy Hendricks.~: :j: :j: :j: :j:/ The Modern AtlasAtlas am I· the . '1i\ 1 ' eart 1. rests on my backr.Ule makes so laI .. me my speech and slow my walk :gloan for SCars tl t· . 'D d 1'· ta gramte moun tams scratch.epresse oy treaty, jarred by jingo talkI fast for common pangs' t 'ldAll .' my .oes are co ;men remark this stooping frame and jeer;MANUSCRIPTS 21The stars remain unseen when mists enfold,And alien laugh gives way to friendly tear.But wait; I hurl away the heavy earth;I was not acting when its play was cast;For bowing shoulders there is no applause-I will not hold it up and doubt its worth:In vain a Grecian urn reveals the past;'We see effects and cannot find a cause.-Ina Marshall.Cousin Lloyd and the BaptismBruce HammanAt the time of cousin Lloyd's baptism, there were twelvehundred and twenty-seven people living in the town ofSnacarac, not including the people living on the lakes.Cousin Lloyd was the leader of the town's sports. He couldcatch more fish, drink more beer, and play better poker thananyone else in town. He earned thirty dollars a week de-livering ice in the mornings and usually that much more playing golf with the lakers in the afternoon.The town of Snacarac lies on a narrow strip of land be-tween Lake Wakatawba and Lake Lexnogia. Cousin Lloydserved as game, warden for the lakes and the hunting areaaround them. He was a good game warden until one timethe conserva~ion people c~u&"ht him with seven pheasants,which was five over the 111'mt, and cousin Lloyd was firedfrom the state payroll.Cousin Lloyd himself ran for two offices at one time oranother. Every year a wit would nominate him for Sundayschool supenntenclent.. Evel:y year he was defeated. One timehe ran for volunteer fire chief and was elected. He manasedthe first three fires without any trouble. On the way to thefourth fire, he let he .hose (~rag from the back of the truckand the nozzle was filled with gravel. Before the hose w.asunplugged the hot:se bUl"lllecl1clowffl,.so t1l:eftown called a specialmeetinz and d ismissed L oyc as. .ire c 1e. .CO~lsill Lloyd was twenty-eight at the ~ll11eof the fourthfire escapade, and for twelve of the twenty-eight years a gr~upof the townspeople, ~ed ?y Reverend Ro~off,. had been urgmgLlo c1 to give up hIs sinful ways. Thel~ big' argument ,,:asthal nearly all of the young ~,eop~e were 111 tl:e fold, to whichLloyd would usually answer, Yes, you convet t them one week

Sonnets

https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1941&amp;context=manuscripts

Sonnets

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