Montani Semper...
Snapshots From An Appalachian Family Album
by Ty Bouldin
![Montani Semper...](https://outskirtspress.com/images/author_content_thumbs/487323A/cover.jpg)
Montani Semper...
Snapshots From An Appalachian Family Album
by Ty Bouldin
Published Oct 31, 2021
132 Pages
Genre: FICTION / Literary
Book Details
Book Excerpt
And the Greek goes on, though Woody's feeling old now, you know, so old he can't care enough to hear. So old his torn, stained hands can't feel a thing now, his grey wrinkled-up brain can't take it in. So old he can't stand any more. No more of words, no more of fiery light.
All he knows is the Greek's still talking, running on and on. Some damn springcreek. Some babbling lot of nonsense about what never happened, what never could have happened, happened to the third child. The boychild that, you know, died. And the Greek is saying:
"The whole congregation is there, standing there behind the Healer — and your boy is standing there, on his strong bare little feet right up there in the pew, that spinning gyroscope of his held high there on his steady fingertip right before his eyes. All he can see is the light of it, the spinning light, the quick wheel wobbling and righting itself over and over, dancing on the fingernail of his right index finger. And all they can see I would guess is the Compton girl, naked and ashamed, her shy hands held up there before her shining breasts as she sits slumped on a rock at the side of the creek.
"And the Healer, now, bellowing like a bull, crying out to your boy, calling him a sinner, a child of Satan Himself. Calling on a child — on a child — to confess. But your boy, he stands his ground, looking deep into the weaving and the spinning of the light thrown by the wheel of his child's toy, and his voice is a kind of far off, you see, and he's talking like a boy in a dream of wheeling light, saying,
'When I woke up this morning, I was a fish, a sunnyfish swimming in a sunny little pool, and my Ma poured cold fresh water there, and the water she poured splashed me up on the mud.
'And up on the mud there, I was a springlizard with the purtiest black-and-yellow tail all the color of fire, and the sun from heaven was a'shinin' on me, and it dried up the mud and took the cool water all up in the air.
'And I went up in the air with it. And up in the air I was a bird, ya know, a bright redbird just a'singin', singin' songs to my mother. And singin' I flew, and I flew and I flew until my wings was so tired.
'And then I flew down onto the porch where all the dogs lay a'sleepin', and when they woke up, they saw a young deer. And I was the deer — and they chased me then, and I ran and I ran just as fast as I can, 'cause I knew they'd just jerk me to pieces. And by noon I'd run as far as I could and just laid me down in fear they'd catch me.
'But when I looked up for their mean old teeth, I seen Mary Ellen Compton, and she's just a'cryin' so — and I seen that I was a man.' "