I ain’t sayin’ I’m like Jesus… But I got tired like Him, an’ I got mixed up like Him, an’ I went into the wilderness like Him, without campin’ stuff. Nighttime I’d lay on my back an’ look up at the stars; morning I’d see an’ watch the sun come up; midday I’d look out from a hill at the rollin’ dry country; evenin’ I’d foller the sun down. Sometimes, I’d pray like I always done. On’y I couldn’t figure what I was prayin’ to or for. There was the hills, an’ there was me, an’ we wasn’t separate no more. We was one thing. An’ that one thing was holy. – Jim Casy

Ms. Lou's Chicken and Dumplins

Make a young boy salivate
He asks his memaw if she should mention
All he talks about is your chicken and dumplins
South Arkansas charm
Ms. Oglesbys good time radio
I heard we were visiting from out of town
After church and the stained glass above our heads
All the kids sat at the table and laughed
And ate every bite of what Ms. Lou delivered.

Fishing Hole

I once thought I had everything I need
then I grew up
the swallow picks up the seed
from the tree but it wasn't enough
It ain't as easy
When the southwind blows
just as hook, line, and life seemed
to catch merely a perch out my fishing hole