The Mountain Laurel
The Journal of Mountain Life

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from the
Heart of the Blue Ridge


Night Voices

By Gertrude Davis © 1987

Issue: June, 1987

When photographs were strange and new
And in the highlands, there were few,
There were sly pranksters bent on jokes
Especially aimed at older folks.

A devout couple, rich in years,
Lived in a style much like their peers
Near a dirt road on clearing space,
A tranquil forest bounded place.

The wife went out to see a friend,
She knew there were the sick to tend.
The husband was alone at home
Except for boys free to roam.

They wound up a Victrola's arm
In the backyard without alarm.
On this night in early June,
They played a well known gospel tune.

The wife came back to her own house
To find an agitated spouse.
"I must depart this present life
I heard the angels sing, dear wife."