| THE PEARLS PAGE 1 |
| 1 His parents named him Jacob He was their pride and joy For thought the youngest child of five He was the only boy! They had left their country To seek a better life Years ago with almost nothing A new husband and his wife Two worn-out cloth valises Held spare clothes, some precious books His Daddy's bible, her Mama's pearls These things were all they took For the passage was expensive It cost nearly all they had But they were here...America!! And both their hearts were glad He found work and so did she They scrimped and saved for years The day they bought the little house She could not hide her tears... Then the babies started coming Four daughters in a row Money and space in short supply As the girls began to grow Her fifth pregnancy was awful And when the doctor said "No more!" She fervently prayed that God would send The son her husband longed for! Her strong faith was rewarded The day Jacob came to be... The joy and pride on Papa's face Was a wondrous thing to see As the children grew they listened To the stories Mama'd tell Of the hardships and the sadness In the homeland she'd known well They'd each heard a hundred times About Mama's precious pearls A legacy that would upon her death Pass to the eldest girl... The strand of glowing, lustrous beads Made the little daughters gasp Each time Mama proudly showed them The engraving on the clasp M.I.S. in flowing script Mary Irene Sullivan was the name Of their mother's great-great aunt Whose beauty had brought her fame The pearls had been a wedding gift Back in 1881... Mary'd left them to her daughter And the tradition had begun That's why Mama was determined To do her part, just so In passing on the legacy of the pearls Begun all those years ago |
| 2 Life continued, years went by The girls set out on their own Until Jacob was the only child Left living still at home His Mama doted on him Thought he could do no wrong And Papa just adored the son He'd waited for so long They spoiled the boy quite shamelessly And those who knew him well Were not suprised to see him heading Down a path aimed straight for hell! He took up with a rowdy crowd At 16, he quit school Sparking many bitter quarrels For that was Papa's strictest rule First heavy drinking, drugs and crime Then he stole to feed his habit The drugs now in complete control He simply had to have it! Though Papa shouted and Mama prayed Poor Jacob was too far gone He had little, if any, backbone And had never been that strong... Then one night Papa had a stroke While arguing with his son Jacob wanted money, but the older man Cried, "Not a cent...not one! I will not nail your coffin shut And there's no need to ask why... You're my son....my love is strong I'll not pay to help you die!" |
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