Author - Ola Paulk
Submitted By - To A Lineman
By Ola Paulk
Wife of a Lineman
Mother of a Sea-Bee
It’s the eve before Christmas, the logs have burned low,
The north wind is howling, bringing flurries of snow.
The tree with its gifts has been waiting for hours,
The dinner is cold, petals droop from the flowers…
Then…the telephone rings… hope springs forth anew…
“I’m still working dear… Merry Christmas to you…
The ice and the snow are weighting down lines…
Don’t stay up and wait, it’s wasting your time.
Then….silence again seemed to fill the whole room,
I breathe a prayer that the snow will cease soon.
Merry Christmas to him? That lineman of mine?
Is to see that the lights on other trees shine…
Lights throughout the whole world, bright symbols of HIM
Who someday will bring peace, good-will toward men.
Merry Christmas? God grant it, to that sailor lad
Keeping watch over-there, and his lineman dad.
He just ‘shoots’ trouble, maybe ‘pushes’ the crew,
Keeps watch on the lines, sees that ‘juice’ can go through.
His clothes are not tidy, he’s often unshaven.
Depends on the weather, how lines have behaved.
When lightening flashes or it rains, snows or sleets,
You can bet your boots there’s no rest between sheets.
He’s off on the run thru both hunger and thirst,
Lines must be cleared, keep our motto ‘Service First”.
Icy poles? Dangerous heights? High Voltage or low,
It’s the life of a lineman where-e’re he goes.
He laughs at his troubles and talks of OT..
“Hits the sticks”, tramps thru slush, clears lines thru the trees.
As meal times click by they just tighten their belts,
Make jokes with each other so pains can’t be felt.
Tho bodies are weary and eyes may be red,
They just scoff at the thought of going to bed.
All the lines must be cleared and things all OK
Ere food is considered or thoughts of the ‘hay’.
Holidays to them? Just more troubles and cares…
As dads on the home front, back to sons ‘over-there’.
Respectfully dedicated to all ‘Soldiers on the Home Front’
TP&L Linemen
Ola’s son served in the Sea Bees during WWII.