A Family I Knew

I knew of a family In an unpainted small house In the poorest part of the town The man of the house Had met his love, Maria Together they produced 8 children I wondered where they slept. The oldest child's name was Kalle And became my mother's boyfriend The man of the house a made living Driving horse and cart emptying Peoples rubbish taking it to the dump. He had beer in the cart And sang when driving to the stable Where he spent time grooming The horse and feeding it. He sat on a crate reading the papers Which he could not do at home. Still, he loved his Maria and I saw them Holding hands, she had no teeth "poverty" and had gone fat. Yet it was a happy home we celebrated Our Christmases' there. Kalle, who liked to wear a suit Got a flat with a toilet in another town And we didn't see him so often.