Tramps and Gypsies

tramps rode the trains
the new york central railroad
had tracks and a crossing for cars
not far from our house
we could hear the crossing bells
signaling the arrival of a train
I was the youngest of three daughters
growing up in a small ohio farming community
my dad was a car mechanic and walked to work
to save gas during the war
our house on east elm street
was small and painted white
with a big front porch
and just a small roof to cover one person
over the back door
two bedrooms and one bathroom
for our family of five
my dad had a big garden
and my mom hung the wet laundry
on the clothesline in the back yard
she had some sort of wooden pole
she used to prop up the lines
of the clothesline
which I never figured out
she had a cloth bag that hung
on the clothesline
full of wooden clothespins
my two older sisters and I were young
and very impressionable
tramps followed the railroad tracks
and marked houses along the way
that would give them food
we didn't have much
but they always got something
my sisters and I had heard dad tell mom
do not feed the tramps it could be dangerous
and they mark the houses
so they all know who will feed them
the screen door on the back door of our house
was wood framed with a small latch lock
which would be easy to break
in those days it was enough
when the tramps came and they always did
because mom always gave them food
mom made us stand behind the kitchen door
so they could not see us
but we could sneek a peek at them
we were always alittle scared
but we worried more about the fact
that if it happened to be gypsys
at the door and sometimes it was
and they saw us
they would come back steal us
we had been told this and often
saw them in their wagons going aound town
the tramps and gypsies were lucky
to get moms good food
so were we