Our Readers Write
No doubt, our most prolific contributor over the years is Ruby Braithwaite from Hagerstown, Maryland. is with heavy heart that we write of the passing of long-time contributor and dear, dear friend, Ruby Braithwaite, of Hagerstown, Maryland. After suffering many health issues and a recent fall, Ruby died peacefully in her sleep on December 28, 2020. For decades, since OUR READERS WRITE column first made its appearance in the 70s, Ruby was there, offering some of her most vividly descriptive, original poetry. and stories of her childhood in the Blue Ridge Mountains Even when dealing with her health issues, she made sure that her daughter, Shelia Boyer, sent us something for the upcoming issue. She wrote The Almanack often, not only sharing her poems, but also telling stories from her childhood, many of which were simply hilarious.
FROST PICTURES
Who is this winter fairy who designs my window pane,
With fern leaves, veins and dainty etchings,
In frosty ink so delicate and fine,
That to my young eyes are so fetching.
Mother Nature draws these icy designs,
Then in the summer days, in by-gone days,
She will bring to life her frosty etchings
In emerald, rose and azure under the sun’s golden rays.
THE BEAUTY OF SPRINGTIME
When the purple lilac blooms by my cabin,
And the perfume of honeysuckle filled the air,
God has then touched the earth with His glory,
its beauty is seen everywhere.
The trailing arbutus by a fast rushing stream,
The white May apple so graceful and tall.
pink larkspur, purple violets, and shy yellow buttercups,
Little Dutchman breeches, the prize of them all.
Under the flowering branch of the spicewood,
As children through the fiddler-head ferns we would run,
Our toes printing in the mud by the mill stream,
Laughing in the joy of childhood fun.
These scenes live now only in memory,
The streaked pages of time has now turned,
My life as a child in the Blue Ridge Mountain
Now in old age, I so often yean.
HEAVEN
In heaven, God waits patiently
For the people of the world
To end their wickedness and strife
And lead a much better life
To help the poor and needy people
Who need food and clothing each day
Some too ill to get a job
And then no money to pay.
They go from home to home
Borrowing what they really need
Knowing they have no way to repay
At the close of each and every day
Others have food they throw away
What a terrible waste
When the hungry and sick cold use the food
They then do without with Grace.
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