Just Doodling by “Pops”

By Roy B. Lillard

My grandfather, Roy Lillard, left this earth in 1981, so he unfortunately did not get to see his poetry published during his lifetime. He was born in Missouri and was raised on a farm. He later moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he was an associate professor of agricultural engineering at Louisiana State University until he retired. He and his wife, Ruby Shults Lillard, had a long, wonderful, and loving life together; and he lived to be eighty-six, while she lived to be ninety-one. He was a poet and an artist and played the guitar, and he was a humble, soft-spoken person. Although he is now gone and missed, his thoughts and beliefs will hopefully live on in his poetry.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Mar 13, 2019
• ISBN: 9781728303857

Book preview

© 2019 Roy B. Lillard. All rights reserved.

Cover art by Roy B. Lillard

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 03/12/2019

ISBN: 978-1-7283-0386-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-0385-7 (e)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Note: My grandfather, Roy Lillard, left this Earth in 1981, so he unfortunately did not get to see his poetry published during his lifetime. He was born in Missouri and was raised on a farm, and later moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he was an Associate Professor of Agricultural Engineering at Louisiana State University until he retired. He and his wife, Ruby Shults Lillard, had a long and wonderful and loving life together, and he lived to be 86 and she lived to be 91. He was a poet and an artist and played the guitar, and was a humble soft-spoken person. Although he is now gone and missed, his thoughts and beliefs will hopefully live on in his poetry.

Phillip S. Lillard

Contents

Dedication

A Bequest

A Little Bit Of Ink

A Song To One Beloved

About A Pen

Advise To A Working Man

Age

An Old Person

As Time Comes And Goes

Change

Christmas Coincidence

Coffee For Breakfast

Common Sense

Conservation

Country Ruction

Dirt Thou Art

Early Blooming In The Deep South

Educational Advantages

English

Friendliness

Gay Nineties In Missouri

Give Me Good Old Country Cooking

God, Humble Us

God’s Love, And Memories

God’s Recompense

God’s Solitude

Grace

Grandpa’s Old Grape Vine

Habits

Henry

If I Were King

Industry And Laziness

Just Foolishness

Letter To A Kindred Spirit

Life

Man, Bird And Beast

Mans’ Greatest Problem

Meditation Of A Sinner

Meditation

Memories That Time Forgot

Memories

Missouri

More Common Sense

Mother’s Apple Pie

Mother’s Day

My Friend

My Home In The Country A. D. Nineteen Hundred

My Hope

My Wife

Nature’s Plan

Of Spring Time And Fishing

Of The Growth Of Love

Old Folks

On Doubting Young Folks

On Growing Old

On Modern Buildings

Past And Present

Pond Sailors, All

Prayer Of Thanks

Prediction

Regression

Reminiscing

Repentance

Responsibility

Reward Of Kindness

Rocking Chair

Seek Ye First The Kingdom Of God

Sins Forgiven

Sis And Me And The Willow Twig Tree

Snowbound Hermit

Spring

Temperament

That Yellow-Bellied Yellow Hammer

The Audacious Jay

The Back End Of A Horse In Tennessee

The Cat’s Me-O-O-W

The Dreamer

The Fourth Of July, Nineteen Seventy-Six

The Greaser

The Great Power Of God

The Great Salesman

The Hot Rodder

The Hurricane

The Jewel Of Reasoning

The Living And The Dead

The Mimic

The Music Of Poems

The Old Man

The Old Pecan Tree

The Poor Poet

The Reason Why

The Rockaby Lady On Lullaby Street

The Rootin’ Tootin’ Private

The Sinful Nature Of Man

The Squirrel

The Storm And The Mocking Bird

The Storm

The Tramp

The Wayward One

The Young Man’s Plight

Tight

Vanity

Vicissitude

Vinegar And Honey

Weep Not Or Mourn

Why

Dedication

This book is dedicated first to my wife, Ruby Shults Lillard, and then to my two sons, my grandchildren and my great grandchildren. It was written to furnish me with a past time and pleasure in my old age. In it I have tried to bring out a few of my experiences in life, and also some of my observations as I have lived it. I have been all through my life a jack of all trades and master of none, and I expect that as you read you will find that I lack a bit of education. Be that as it may, these verses, good or bad, have given me much enjoyment, and I hope the reader can take note of the things I have tried to give, having to do with the difficult things that I have experienced throughout my life, and profit by them.

Some of the things I have written have to do with natural things such as the behavior of animals and birds, and others have to do with the behavior of man with reference to his belief, or lack of belief in deity.

I have always like to observe the natures of people as I happened to come in contact with them, and have learned that the saying It takes all kinds of people to make a world, is true. They are all here, including me.

A Bequest

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A little wisdom, now and then,

Is shown by any writer’s pen;

So when you write just do your best,

To tell what brought, to you, progress,

And you will leave, with clarity,

Your knowledge to posterity.

A Little Bit Of Ink

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Some time when you’re sitting around and have much time to think,

Think of the havoc brought about with a little bit of ink.

Now I know that fame and fortune came to some great men,

Because they used good judgement when they used ink and pen.

But often I’ve regretted the things that I once wrote,

For I lost a lot of money when I signed another’s note.

Now we’re in an awful war, a big mistake, I think,

Because our leaders made commitments with a little bit of ink.

Now, my bank account grows smaller as I view it now and then,

And I know it couldn’t happen if it were not for a pen.

All of this care and worry could drive a man to drink,

And I am sure that it could be stopped, if they’d do away with ink.

A Song To One Beloved

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I sing a song to your brown eyes;

Your dimpled cheek, I idolize;

Your shapely form I just adore;

I know I could not love you