'Down South'

Original beliefs of my family 

down south, and my years 

working down south have 

almost been tarnished with 

the raucous goings on between 

here and there ~ such a quaint 

couple of words to define that 

big noisy country ‘down south’; 

‘across the line’ another quaint phrase defined that invisible border we crossed when going to see Grandmother and Granddad.

And across my living room 

I see the first piece of furniture 

I bought when I moved there in 1988. It’s a comfortable reminder of 

those years and a place where I seek 

its comfort to rock me into solace. 

I have believed in the goodness of these 

families and neighbours; 

even though the spelling 

of a few words that drop the ‘u’ 

jostles my spelling sensibilities. 

One brother lives and works ‘down south’;

uncles who fought in WW2, and 

cousins, aunts and uncles; colleagues and friends 

make up those original beliefs and memories ~ 

tarnished by today's uproar but only for a moment.

“Have convictions. Be friendly. Stick to your beliefs 

as they stick to theirs. Work as hard as they do.”

~ Eleanor Roosevelt