The General Store

The General Store

By Robin Lee Shelby

A nickel went a long long way

In those days long ago

It could purchase many things

At the general store

Two number 2 pencils

Enough paper to cover your books

A large piece of candy, all for five cents

At the general store

On Saturdays we took a trip

Up the country road

To purchase groceries for the week

At the general store

Rice and beans, shoes and pants

And other sundry items

Were just a few of the things

At the general store

In the front was a pot bellied stove

That warmed it in the winter

And up above ceiling fans

That cooled it in the summer

Popsicles, peppermint sticks and Jack’s cookies

Candy cigarettes, wax Coke bottles

Halloween harmonicas and wax lips

At the general store

Soft drinks in wooden crates

Ice cold watermelon

Bamboo fishing poles

At the general store

Gravity gas pumps and kerosene tank

Sacks filled with potatoes

Shovels, hoes and rakes

At the general store

Wood framed glass counters

Lined east and west walls

And in the ceiling one could spy

Old gas lighting fixtures

A refrigerated cooler with hanging meat

A butcher shop to carve the cuts

And brown paper to wrap it up

At the country store

Large white scales to weigh things

Wrapping string from overhead cones

A large cash register that held the sales

At the country store

Behind the main counter shelves to the roof

Holding canned goods of every label

Pulled down with a wooden grabber pole

At the country store

Balls of twine, cigars in boxes
Prince Philip in a can
Rubber patches with glue for boots and tires
At the country store 

Ball jars and paraffin wax in boxes
Flour in sacks that became pillow cases
Jam in jars that became drinking glasses
At the country store

These were the things I grew up with

And observed during the years

On my many visits

At the country store