LITTLE GREEN WITNESSES
© Martha Miranda 1990

I had to work so hard
Mama always worked
She made me do too many chores
I thought they were for her

Daddy always loved to drink
And they would fight all night
About the money he threw away
On the beer and wine

I had to work the garden
Planting beans and other things
With my little, little hands
Filled with red ant stings

I had a lot of onions
Too many did I see
Rows and rows of onions
Who liked onions anyway?

I finished the tomatoes
I finished the green beans
I finished all the potatoes
But onions, no siree

I planted all the onions
I thought we'd need that year
And dug a hole and dumped them in
I dug it deep, you hear?

Everything came up all right
So pretty all in rows
And up came the little onions
Standing straight and tall

And Mama called me out one day
To the garden there
And said, What is this I see?
What is this right here?

What is this great mound of green?
They taste like onion leaves
Just look at all the pretty others
Planted perfectly

I really dug the hole so deep
And turned them upside down
Filthy little green witnesses
Sitting there like a crown

Look at all the other rows
So perfectly Mama dear
I'm sorry bout these stinkin' things
Why'd they come up anyway?

And Mama tried not to smile
As she whipped my fanny good
For the crummy green witnesses
Filthy little things

Martha you have got to know
No matter how deep you go
To bury sin within the ground
There will always be

Little green witnesses
Growing everywhere
To shame you and to judge you
For the sin that's down below

Remember what you've learned
From this lesson here
You never have to hide a righteous deed
No little green witnesses will appear

Now I have planted many gardens
Since those younger years
And I have never forgotten
One of those onion tears

And I have had to learn it since
Over and over again
Filthy little witnesses appear
To my every sin

I may just break my Mother's heart
And someone else's too
With little green witnesses
That always do appear

Until one day I saw them growing
All around the cross
My GOD are all those green stems mine?
What shall I do with them now?

There they are so healthy
There they are so strong
I heard it said one time
You reap just what you sow

I tried to cover them all up
But they just kept on growing
I tried to dig them green things out
But they kept on multiplying

I tried to run away
They all kept running after
I couldn't even close my eyes
For everything I saw was green

Growing in my conscience
Growing in my mind
Growing in my soul
Everywhere I find

The little green witnesses
Like ever bearing seeds
O LORD forgive me, please forgive
All the onion deeds!

Copyright 1993 © - All Right Reserved 1993 ®






Background and graphics are Copyright 2011 - All Rights Reserved