Hershey's Boy

A small boy's display of love

 

His eyes brought more joy to this town

Than the last stake in the railroad

Old Hershey brought that boy to the store

Promising him one item from the bottom shelf

One from the middle

One from the top

 

Hershey’s boy tiptoed into that store

A gleam upon his eye

His miniature hand clasped in his father’s

As he timidly approached the counter

He drifted towards the fabrics

The patterns, needles, and thread

“C’mon, be a man.”

And Hershey jerked him back to the toy guns

 

The boy huffed and slipped away

Back to the shelves of colors

He picked out a needle

He picked out some thread

He picked out some fabric

Four yards of blue satin

Soft against his fingers

 

He proudly approached the counter

With his father waiting patiently

“I don’t know how you got to be so feminine

Your Momma died five years ago

You have no belle to make a dress for

Boy, you’re my crazy son.”

 

The boy, now oddly confident

Trotted home with his package

To make a blue satin dress

For a lady he never knew

He drew out a pattern on old newspaper

And cut it out with his old knife

He unwrapped his brand new needle and thread

And set them to the side

 

He unfolded his four yards of soft blue satin

Positioned the pattern carefully

Sharpened his knife to an ungodly sharpness

And cut the pattern out of his new fabric

His eyebrows cinched in concentration

His fist clenched with precision

Not a mistake made in cutting

 

Time to start the piecing

He measure out the thread

As long as his own arm span

And threaded his needle

Keeping his eye on the eye

Two cuts of fabric right-sides together

The needle leads the thread through an adventure

Raw fingers red and white with fatigue

 

Hours and Days later

A dress pieced on his Momma’s old dress model

A blue satin dress

For a lady he never knew

He stood proudly in front of the dress

He had made it with his own two hands

He may be a boy

And he may be small

But he had made something beautiful

For a beautiful someone

 

A dainty size two could fit his deceased mother

Old Hershey stood lazily in the doorway

“Son, you’ve no business making couture

They’ll treat you as an old woman

I didn’t raise an old woman for a son.”

Hershey’s boy still said nothing

His eye still had that gleam

 

He slipped the dress off of the model

Examined his handiwork carefully

A tear glided down his cheek

He left his father in the doorway alone

And walked the mile to the graveyard

The blue satin dress draped carefully over his small arms

Careful not to let it drag in the dirt

 

Hershey’s boy found the grave he was searching for

And laid the dress neatly over the angel’s wings

 

“Momma, I made you this blue satin dress

Because Daddy buried you in calico

And I know that now you’re in heaven

Calico isn’t fit for angels

So please, Momma, take this blue dress

And dance among the angels

I have the most beautiful Momma in heaven

I love you, Momma.

Do you love me too?”

 

He laid a handful of daisies at the angel’s feet

And a breeze tousled his hair

Hershey’s boy smiled with satisfaction

His Momma was dancing in heaven

In his blue satin dress.

Author's Note

A boy goes against the grain, despite what his father tell him. No one stops the son who love his mother. Enjoy. :]

Reviews

[J.K. (Not Rowling)]

This is absolutely heart-wrenching and beautiful. Extremely well done. You managed to evoke a huge realm of emotion in a subtle manner. I'm curious as to what your inspiration was for this poem.

My only technical question is, when you say "He unfolded his four years of soft blue satin" do you mean "He unfolded his four yards of soft blue satin"?

Other than that, this is an amazing poem, one that you should be very proud of. Great job.

[Salvatore Buttaci]

Congratulations for winning the Death-of-a-Parent Contest!

[Jenn Wathen]

very nice enjoyable

[Elana Juli Royson]

This is beautiful. The lengths chldren go to for thier deceased parents... wonderful write. Keep writing!
~Juli Rose

[Yes]

I like this piece. I find it to touch the heart, in an almost sad way. Nice job ^_^

[E-man]

wow very nice piece kudos to you.. god ive been reading poetry all day i think this is one of the best so far if not the best =D

[[untitled]]

im in freakin tears reading this right now. This is a great poem. It was so heart felt. I am glad the father doesn't stop him that would have just ruined the whole thing. But this is a great poem good job

[Fabian G. Franklin]

A very nice heartwarming piece. I enjoy the theme of following through on a good deed even if it seems crazy to someone else. Kudos.

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

Oh my what a heartwarming piece of unconditional love with a very important lesson to go with it... when it comes to love we must stand up for what we believe in no matter the cost. Very inspirational work!!

[L.G. Knight]

Porbably the most beautiful thing I have read in a while.... Absolutely stunning really. Awesome story.

~Frances~