When Visitors Came Poem by Melvina Germain

The land was vast, barren yet beautiful in
it’s own right. An old farmer trudged
by every morning enjoying his cigarette
and gazing upon the land with a strained
look on his face. Bothered by thoughts of
losing his land, that which he had worked
so hard for over the years. The poor
gentleman wasn’t one to share his
problems with outsiders. Most of the towns
people referred to him as a rather laconic
sort of gentleman. He was never one to ask
for advice though he knew he would pay the
consequence for his continued privacy.
Tyler Moore shook his head and started to
walk back to the house, his legs weary so he
walked slowly as if lead were in his boots.
His stomach rumbled, but his current
situation took away his appetite, eating only
due to necessity.
The roaring of a motor heard many miles
away caused Tyler to pick up the pace in
order to eschew any confrontation with those
of authorative position. He quickly hid behind
a gyroscope, an old door and other items
gathered in the old barn. Thoughts raced
through his mind as he stayed in a crouched
position, he thought of setting fire to his
property in order to collect the insurance, a
thought which was dismissed immediately. He
thought of living like a mole burrowed deep in
the ground, a silly thought also dismissed. His
final thought was of selling his property, although
he realized the buyers would expect a bargain
price and why should he have to practically give
his property away.
He heard the door of a vehicle slammed shut and
the bellowing of his name with excited voices,
familiar voices. Slowly he walked out into the
open and saw three family members, running
toward him, grabbing him hugging and kissing
him. He was taken back no one had bothered to
visit him before. They walked him toward the
house, went in and sat at the table. His cousin
Andy handed him an envelope, David and Joanne
looked at each other and smiled. Then all eyes
focused on Tyler as he shakily opened the letter,
inside he found documents that stated his land
was free and clear of all liens. Tears began to
fall and a crooked smile came upon his face. He
had mixed emotions and didn’t quite know how
to react. Tyler slowly looked up with reddened
eyes, while his lips quivered he managed to say
thank you, he shook his head and repeated those
words over and over. Andy, David and Joanne all
took turns hugging and kissing Tyler assuring him
that everything is alright now. The following
morning while everyone slept, Tyler took a walk,
cigarette in hand, smiling all the way, suddenly
he stopped reached his arms toward the sky and
said “THANKYOU”.