Salty Green Beans
Stopped everything. ..COOKIN’ UP A MESS of SALTY GREEN BEANS.
4 to 6 strips of bacon in bottom of pot or crock pot. – OR 8 to 10 Tbspns of bacon grease + add crisped fried bacon. ..
2 pounds green string beans
1 yellow onion sliced thin, all of it
Half cup water (optional )
1 tspns salt
1 tspns pepper
I cooked it on high in crock pot 5 hours. Could cook longer, can’t hurt ’em.
Salt to taste after done cooking.

Here is a poem I wrote with salty green beans in it.
The Forage

After Atlanta’s black clouds
Those of us left, and the whole corps
Were roused to march back
West, into the Alabama route.

There weren’t no railroad
In that direction; for three days
And three nights we carried
Our roll and tramped our own.

“Take water, take water,”
The First Corporal he yelled.
“No vittles for you.
‘Til we get where we’re due.”

On the third night
The thoughts filled my head
Momma’s fried chicken, salty
Green beans, and corn bread.

We drove cattle with us now
The sergeants said soon,
We would set up a camp
And have steaks and stew.

The river was high, as we crossed
Back into Tennessee
The cattle lost footing, and
Floated by, all were lost.

On the fifth night
The thoughts filled my head
Momma’s fried chicken, salty
Green beans, and corn bread.

We halted and set up camp after
First sergeant sent us foraging
With Thomas, Henry, and Jacob
And me they called Jasper.

We found a farm
And a barn had been torched
The house stood quiet
The widow smoked on the porch.

On that sixth day
The smells filled my head
The widow’s fried chicken, salty
Green beans, and corn bread.

She told us and pointed,
“The Yankees got the hogs,
My cold cellar is yonder,
By the creek and the logs.”

Near the bank a door we found
Then a buzz and a crack
Sharpshooter smoked drifted down
While Thomas fell on his back.

At a time like this
I had no thoughts in my head
Of Momma’s fried chicken, salty
Green beans, and corn bread.

We loaded and rammed
And for a cap I fumbled,
I drew down on a head
The stilled Yankee tumbled.

In the cellar we found cold
Stacks of melons, apples,
Peaches and ham, we filled sacks
For the boys, back in the camp.

As we ate onions
It will always be in my head;
Momma’s fried chicken, salty
Green beans, and corn bread.

As a sequel to Atlanta Campaign
Tim Desmond
October 15, 2004
What do you think?

Tim
Timothy J. Desmond
Amazon author page at: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00694KQQO
Books and Writing at: http://timothydesmond.wordpress.com
Art at: http://artbydesmond.wordpress.com