poor Martha Mc Coy

poor Martha Mc Coy

fiction
edward w pritchard

Poor Martha Mc Coy.
True what happened to her was a long time ago,
Cleveland, Ohio in 1894.
It's probably different now,
people don't scrimp and suffer to save money today,
but Martha Mc Coy did.
No heat at night in winter
and never any sugar to cook with, except on Sunday's
and married to a fool.
He spent three years savings
on one sketch by a Dutchman, Rembrandt,
the eyes intrigued Martha's husband.
The money was half Martha's,
but she gave in at last
tired of arguing with a fool.
The picture was hung in their house until her husband died;
Martha sold the sketch.
But in 1907 times were hard
and Martha lost money on the picture.
Poor Martha,  poor Martha Mc Coy
a fool for a husband
who would rather have a picture
than sugar throughout the week.