Amanuensis Monday - Grandma Hill's Poetry, week 27

The duck is a low, heavy set bird, composed mostly of

meat, and feathers.  He is a mighty poor singer,

having a hoarse voice, caused by getting too many

frogs in his throat.

He likes the water, and carries a toy balloon in his

stomach to keep him from sinking.

The duck has only two legs, and they are set so far

back on his running gears, by nature, that she came

pretty near missing his body.

Some ducks, when they get big, have curls in their tails

and are called drakes.  Drakes don't have to set or

hatch, but just loaf, go swimming, and eat.

If I was a duck, I'd rather be a drake anytime.

Nancy Jane Wiley Hill (1875-1960) was always writing something.  Many of those poems are now in the possession of her granddaughter Shirley Kern.  Shirley, with the help of her sister-in-law Ruth Ormsby, transcribed these poems in 1996 for a Hill-Ormsby-Kern family reunion.  I am going to post many of these poems so that they may be enjoyed by all.

These are copyright 1996 and reprinted with permission.