WHEN THE HARD TIMES CAME

**A Traditional Poem **

WHEN THE HARD TIMES CAME

She picked up the pieces of a broken life,
bundled the children in the car and drove away,
leaving behind the drunken, abusive husband
in the quagmire of his own dark soul that day.

He wallowed in self pity and drank even more
falling deeper into depression and remorse,
but his anger was stronger than his love for her
and he planned revenge as his only recourse.

She made a new life and worked hard at living
a life that would bring some light to the dark.
His pathway to prison changed his blurred vision,
the road for him was uphill, barren and stark.

Years passed by and the children asked why
she left their father standing there in the rain,
she tried to explain but they did not understand
what happened when the hard times came.

On a small hillside, they buried the memories
of a man who brought them so much pain.
Even then, she wondered if she could have
changed things, it would never be the same.

They all bear the deep scars of the hardship,
each trying to make a decent life of their own.
There was no one to care or share her heartbreak
and she faced the years that came - all alone.

Countrymom
10/21/96