GTT, Gone to Texas 1957

We are all in the station
Wagon headed for a new
Home in Texas,
Only Susan has remained
In Illinois for studies
And her eventual marriage.
Mary is an infant,
David a small boy,
Sally is only 9.
The miles slip by and
We fight and complain
To while away the hours,
Penny perhaps is the
Most somber of us as
She has lost her best
Ally and antagonist, Susan.
Penny is most alone now
And faces H.S. and new
Friends and enemies alone,
I am her chief adversary but
Still too young to challenge,
I am an obnoxious eleven.
I tease her by saying in Texas
She will marry a Mexican,
I am unaware of my rude,
Prejudiced words and half
Speculating the unknown.
I have no clue on the future,
We know nothing of Texas or
San Antonio or Mexican
Food or the culture or the
Social mores of the place
And we are worried
About the unknown.
Our parents have
Their own worries
And try to over
Look our poor
Behavior with an
Occasional savage threat.
We will flourish
In Texas and embrace
Our new home con gusto,
But do not yet know
How lucky we are
Or how full of
Promise our
Lives will be.
I suppose it
Is the same
With death.