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Show THE ZEPHYRJANFEB 1992 it PAGE 25 The Lemon Tree the poetry of Frank Lemon TheLemonTree Or Lemon Biography s While gazing through my kitchen window At the red hills patched with melting snow I sat reminiscing on my boyhood And the days of long ago. mind homestead another to They brought And other hills as red as these; A green spot in another desert Of well kept Helds and cultured trees. I view in mind the spacious home The lawns, the garden walks, the gate; The shady paths I used to roam- The pasture bars where the cows would wait . Yes, there was the sleeping dog and the purring cat Curled up on the rug, at mother's feet, His long tail twitching this way and that Perhaps he was dreaming of a gopher he meant to eat. If prejudice perhaps annoys my peers- -I still, will hail these," great among the great-Brav- ing a desert's solitude, two intrepid pioneers, Their names 1 know" are marked in book of State. Where now the speeding wheels of commerce roll The marks left by their passing, once blazed the way. Where then, the hand of hardship took its toll There now, the hand of luxury extends to us today. In dreams 1 see the orchards still. Cows waiting at the pasture bars; ; The ripening fruit, the cider mill, The nights Id lie and watch the stars. I see the grove of poplar trees, I hear the tolling of our dinner bell, I hear the droning flight of bees, And mothers voice sayin- g- All is well, All is well. And now, in these long after years I see How in abundance the fruits of labor grow Proud heritage to the Lemon Family Tree," .Where still, the many tiny channeled Streamlets" flow. of oxen, a riding horse and pad, A four yoke team And in The After Years Two strong hands and two determined hearts. The fire in my hearth burns cheerily still I remember how our mother sat Their wagon and what worldly things they had. And I dream as 1 watch the embers glow, Beside the fireplace and its cheerful glow Sufficient for the times with which to make their start. Occasionally there leaps a pale blue blaze blue smoke With fortitude and undiminished faith in God, Content to watch the plumes And the smoke up the chimney climbs, lazy and slow. and fro. to and trials so and As the bright morning sun creeps over the hill writhing Twisting Hunger, hardship, many they bore; son--- And sparkles the diamonds in last nights snow Giving back to Him" their first-bor- n How I wondered what she saw there And then a little daughter, not yet four. A shy bird lights on our window sill on her face" That gentle half-smiAnd gives me his usual trilling hello ! While her fingers softly traced the pattern in a bank, Their first abode a dug-oOf a fine, but rare, intricate lace. with and held in place with stone; Thatched oer brush Next came a sturdy one-roocabin And there sat dad in his easy chair, First monument where the desert claims its own. Drowsing, taking his evening snooze Their homestead claimed from desert shrub. While my sister brushed his thinning hair From drifting sand and prickly pear, And loosened the laces in his heavy shoes. The old clock resting on the mantle shelf By shoulders heaving at sinking hub, half-hoAnd its faithful oxen straining there. bong" Gently struck A homestead claimed through Timber Act": Fondly, dad smiled at his busy elf" And mother burned softly Loves Old Sweet Song." A law discarded long ago, And now, rich garden crop and orchard tract il The fire in the hearth burned low, burned tiny, channeled streams of water flow.' , And many only the dying embers remained: The charred log settled then burst in a glow That sputtered and hissed, then flickered and waned. The dying fire burned lower still The sleeping dog whimpered as if in pain The late moon peeped oer the window sill And falling leaves sounded like drops of rain. le -- ut m ur low-Unt- QJR3D Q DdLDDIH 89 No. Main D DS0 3S Cable 259-813- 6 V-- HAPPY NEW YEAR! CD's V Accessories Tapes Music for Everyone ROCK T COUNTRY MOOD MUSIC L CLASSICAL SOUND TRACKS FOLK jfJAZZ A . GOSPEL NEW AGE OPEN 10:00 AM TO 8:00 PM 7 DAYS A WEEK Western Plaza 59 South Main Moab, Utah 84532 259-440- 5 |