The Mountain Laurel
The Journal of Mountain Life

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from the
Heart of the Blue Ridge


The Little House Out Back

By Lawrence R. Burton © 1983

Issue: June, 1983

The little house out backPhotograph by Rick Hill.You can brag about your toilets
With a French Provincial flair,
Or the charm of the traditional
At the top of the winding stair,

But for deep down solid comfort,
And no privacy you’ll lack
You really ought to take a trip
Down the path that leads out back!

Down the path that leads to freedom
From a host of worldly cares
With no intrusion on seclusion
And no hint of surly stares!

No flush and brush awaits you,
And no faucet need you crack
When all alone you take the throne
In that little house out back!

You’ll hear the crickets chirping
And the whip-o-will so gay,
And all of nature’s nomenclature
Will be there along the way!

And should the trip be urgent,
And your time be in arrears
Then have no fear - relief is near
In that catalog from Sears!

It may be last years issue,
With its prices all mixed up,
With its order blanks now missing
And no page for buttercups

But that will make no difference,
And your time will be well spent
As in the spring you do your thing,
Near a star lit firmament!

So my advice to anyone
Who is tired of modern “cans”
Those who are disenchanted
With the fluffs and frills of man

You should take a casual journey
Down that mossy pebbled track
Where you can sit and relish it
In a little house out back!