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By Scarlet Torch and Blade

Chapter 29: GETTIN’ TO IT
By Anthony Euwer
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Poetry

About This Book

A varied poetry collection presents lyrical meditations on open landscapes, woodland life, and the forces of fire and weather. It is organized into thematic sections that range from expansive outdoor scenes to domestic moments, playful verse, a sequence devoted to individual tree species, and a group of poems reflecting travel and longing abroad. Imagery often centers on natural details—trees, animals, rivers, and mountain tops—while occasional narratives depict human labor, community, and small, ironic observations. Tone shifts between solemn, celebratory, and whimsical, and several poems combine illustration with short rhymes to evoke mood and place.

GETTIN’ TO IT

When Jim gets to it he’s goin’ to fix The front door where it always sticks, And oil the hinges where they squeak And put new shingles on the leak That trickled down and ruined all The paper on the spare-room wall. He’s goin’ to take a piece of lead And mend the drain-pipe, so he said, By solderin’ up that pesky chink Down underneath the kitchen sink; And nail the loose boards on the floors And patch up all the fly-screen doors.
When Jim gets to it he’s goin’ to clean The wood-shed like you’ve never seen, And hang the hoes and rakes on racks, And shake out all the gunny-sacks, And all the empty cans and truck And old gum-boots he’s goin’ to chuck, And leave a place big enough For all the mops and brooms and stuff. And oh the wood he’s goin’ to chop! When Jim gets to it there’ll be a crop Of kindlin’ that will see you through At least a dozen years or two.
When Jim gets to it he’s goin’ to take And fix his teeth so they won’t ache, Especially some molars there That’s just got wrecked through wear and tear— Their nerves had ought to first be killed And ’bout a dozen others filled. He’s goin’ to have some X-ray man Examine him if he can Find why he’s been so plagued of late Along his spinal vertebrate.
He’s goin’ to take and drown I guess ’Bout ninety kittens more or less, That make a point of hangin’ round The kitchen door and gettin’ wound Up in your feet so that you squash A kitten with each step, by Gosh!
There’s lots of things that Jim declares Each day will want some new repairs; The barnyard gate is far from straight And saggin’ pretty low of late; The buck-saws will need filin’ soon The new piano’s out of tune, The wagon-reach is split and may Capsize a cargo any day.
It seems like quite a lot to do, But I suppose he’ll see it through When nothin’ else is crowdin’ him Nor pressin’ on his mind, and Jim Is feelin’ fairly fit and prime— But when it comes to that there time I guess it’s not too much to say That Jim will have one busy day.