That old straw sojourner

david matherne

an old patched hat, which was almond with trim-red,

watched as it sat on an old, thin head.

and what it saw, and what it knew,

was more than more of you

might even ever construe 5

from just a patched, old hat.

it’d seen a child die—depression--a war,

bowed at the bedside of the lady once adored,

watched while its owner did weep when his store

burned down to the ground, nothing left but the floor10

and that brand-new hat on his head.

it saw with lucid eyes inhuman, divine

the tired man grew older, while his boy grew wise.

some said, ‘so tragic,’ the son said, ‘fate’

when the lightning left a char on the elder’s pate 15

and they both did loving before too late.

that special bequest.

so he wore his farming father’s dingy hat every day,

hoping it would make him like his only hero in that way.

so the hat went to school, 20

then it kept him somewhat cool

as he worked the plow and mule

like his fallen father had.

it had been there when the midwife had announced, ‘you’ve a boy.’

the hat was there when his wife had their second little joy.25

so the family worked the farm

until the boy took arm-in-arm

a girl from town with mighty charm

who had a fancy for shoes and hats.

the married lad watched his dad lose his crops, then his wealth,30

while the hat witnessed worse, constant fleeting of his health.

on the porch until the end, father son simply sat.

being heir, he got the farm, and the house, and the cat.

but what he really wanted most was that one thing that

was truly old hat. 35

he got it and he wore it and he tore it and he patched it,

but the hat didn’t mind since the man truly matched it.

he grew thin and he grew old,

of all the things he’d ever sold,

no value like what he’d unfold 40

to his own son one patched old hat.

3)

it had been there when the midwife had announced, ‘you’ve a boy.’

the hat was there when his wife had their second little joy.

so the family worked the farm

until the boy took arm-in-arm

a girl from town with mighty charm

who had a fancy for shoes and hats.

which best restates the information concisely and accurately?

a) husband and wife have children, work the farm, then move to town where they can buy things like shoes and hats.

b) the man, his wife, and the children all worked the farm together as they grew up; the wife liked shoes and hats.

c) the midwife had a boy, then had a ‘second little joy,’ a girl. the family worked until their children all got married.

d) after having a boy, the father and his wife have another baby; their boy grows up and marries a girl who, ironically, likes hats!
plz hurry i need this answer fast