Poem of the Week
January 17, 2005
Henry Harrison, Publisher, New York, 1935. Copyright, 1935. Fair use. Vintage Colorado Poetry would welcome hearing from family
of Millicent H. Velhagen.
Little 'dobe houses set in still, bare ground,
Not a tree to shade them, not a bush around;
Oven at the corner, baking beans and bread;
No boards or bricks for flooring, trampled ground instead.
Yet they stand protected as the seasons go;
Storms may dash against them, bring them rain or snow,
Hunger creep, or sickness stalk around the doors;
Woe cannot cross the portals, tread the earthen floors,
For Mother Mary guards them with her own dear hue
By doors and windows painted in Madonna blue;
She alone can save them---let the Padre pray!
Mother Mary's color drives the Devil away.
--Millicent H. Velhagen
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