Arizona - Poem - Found in an old territorial prison - Yuma
78Poem titled "Me Mudder"
" When my prayers were early said
Who tucked me in my widdle bed
And spanked my ass till it was red?
Me Mudder
Who lifted me from my cozy cot
And set me on an ice cold pot
And made me pee if I could or not?
Me Mudder
And when the morning light had come
In my widdle crib I dribbled some
Who wiped my tiny little bum?
Me Mudder
Who did my hair so neatly part
And pressed me gently to her heart
And sometimes squeezed till I'd fart
Me Mudder"
................................................................
"Who looked at me with eyebrows knit,
And neatly had a king size fit,
When in my Sunday clothes me shit?
Me Mudder.
When at night the bed did squeak,
Me raised me head to have a peek,
Who yelled at me to go to sleep?
Me Fadder."
State historic park information
- Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park, AZ (DesertUSA)
Arizona's Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park, includes color photos, tours, history and links to nearby attractions.
Details of movies made at this site, etc.
For those interested in the cause of death of the prisoners who died here, click on this link...
- Yuma Territorial Prison Cemetery - Yuma County, Arizona
Cemetery records of the Yuma Territorial Prison in Yuma, Yuma County, Arizona
Origin of the word Yuma
Discovered during my grandparent's travels...
This poem was discovered and carefully hand copied by my maternal grandfather who saw great humor in it while visiting the old territorial prison in Yuma, Arizona.
My grandparents often escaped the cold Wisconsin winters by traveling south. They had the time to leisurely explore the many southern states and check out the different sights and places of interest that crossed their path.
One such location that they discovered on their sojourns is now a State Historical Park in Yuma, Arizona. It was the first prison in that part of the country and operated from 1876 to 1909. The three foot granite walls actually changed purpose during the years between 1910 to 1914 and became that area's high school. During the Great Depression it served to shelter homeless families.
After the old territorial prison no longer functioned as a useable building for housing prisoners, much of the materials used for construction were hauled off and utilized by the community of people residing there for other purposes. What remains to be seen today are the cells, the main gate and the guard towers.
The State Historic Park sits high up on a bluff overlooking the Colorado River. The Sonoran Desert surrounds this area and it is a hot and dry location.
At the time the prison was built, the land adjacent to it would have been inhospitable and because it was remote from other more settled locations, escapes were seldom. If escapees were found, they would then have a ball and chain attached to their leg to wipe out any further thoughts of doing such a thing. A few people were killed during escape attempts.
Overall, other than putting up with loss of freedom and having to withstand the extreme heat of the area, the prison experience there was actually rather humane for its time. Read some of the links for further information.
This poem so amused my grandfather that he memorized it and often recited it through the years to groups of family members and friends. Supposedly it was written by one of the inmates of the prison. (Author unknown).
I thought that I would share this bit of my family's history with you so that you can enjoy this bit of humor that we have thought amusing for many years. Though my grandfather has long ago gone on to the next life, this hand-written bit of poetry that he copied down on a piece of paper has survived to entertain future generations of people who may never get to read the original in the old territorial Yuma prison.
Is the Yuma prison haunted?
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Comments
The poem was hilarious and I do agree with GT I would being crying however for more then my mother, I would also be crying for my iced latte' !!!:) With all of that heat one would have a serious caffeine headache as well. :)
Hi Goldentoad, Yes, the heat must have been awful then prior to air-conditioning. The only relief would have been to jump in the Colorado River. Wonder if they let the prisoners bathe in the river back then on occasion?
Greetings AEvans, My cousin found two more paragraphs by googling the poem. Will go back......edit.......and add them to the poem. They were not copied down by my grandfather nor recited through the years to us by him, but they sound as though they belong.
Google does not credit the poem's author nor origin. So we can all just speculate. Even if a prisoner was not the author, the fact that he wrote it down while in the prison at Yuma makes it a very old poem and memorable at least to him. Thanks for your comments.
Funny poem and great family history - so imporant to preserve even the smallest of family memories. Never heard of Yuma before today ... where does the place name come from linguistically? American Indians? Spanish?
Hi Iphigenia, I added another link above as to the origin of the word Yuma. You guessed correctly that it is both Indian and Spanish. Read the details above. You'll find it interesting.
I love it and had to come back and rad it again, as you can see a gentleman probably in his late 20's early 30's someting like this, history has always been intriguing to me.:)
Hi again AEvans, I agree that history is fun. I appreciate it more now than when I was being tested on it in school many years ago.
Loved the poem, and the story on how it was obtained.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting, MellasViews.
: ) I loved it. It would be so neat to discover who the author was, his history/life and all that, and of course what landed him in jail.
We will undoubtedly never know that. Hopefully he got out alive. If you looked at the causes of death within the prison, there was lots of TB back then among other things. At least he had fun with this poem.........as other people have (like my grandfather) since that time. And now you! (Smile)
Very entertaining read, both the poem and your family reminiscences. If I had learned history this way as a kid, through personal experience stories, I'd have retained a lot more than I did. Thanks so much for sharing.
Hi Sally's Trove, I love history now that I am older and am no longer being tested on memorizing things. Yes......stories make it so much more interesting and often easier to remember as you indicated. Thanks for your comments.
Loved this....Thanks! :)
You are welcome, Tom. Glad that you enjoyed it.
Great Hub!!! I have been there, and surprizingly, the cells are warm, but not all that hot. They have thick walls and don't get a lot of light. It is a creepy place, and I wouldn't be surprized in the least if it was haunted. I had goosebumps when I went there, despite the warm temps.
On another note, the movie "3:10 to Yuma" was about transporting prisoners on a train to that very prison. They never show the prison, but that's the reference.
Hello Anna Marie, Thanks for your added bit of information. Makes this all the more interesting. Thanks!
That is a fine piece of American history.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Pete.
This is delightful. I couldn't help but to laugh hysterically, and now I'm in the mood to get down and boogie.
Thanks. :)
Hi DarwinsLaureate, Glad this could bring some laughter into your life tonight. Boogie away! LOL
Could be my family folklore but I grew up being told my family wrote this. I believe it was my irish great grandmother that was given credit, she was a writer, or maybe it was one of her kin? Wouldn't be surprised if it were her husband that wrote it on the wall, he disappeared when my grandfather was a babe...makes me think more now and want to ask more questions. Thanks for the history lesson~
Just thought I'd share. I googled some more and found it here on this site http://www.thankyouink.com/textdisplay.php?display apparently someone else wrote it in the 1930's. Yet it made its way to Yuma...but I have found it previously in other geneology sites saying its even older. Wow lots of people taking credit, wonder if this woman really did write it, so much for family folklore and stories, lol. Its a great poem nonetheless~
Hello bananas09,
Whether your family member authored it or not (as you say many are taking credit) it certainly is a fun poem. That link you gave in your second comment certainly has a bunch of great poems in it which people might enjoy reading. Thanks for that and thanks for your comment. Nice to see a new face here!
This was funny! =)
Greetings Pachuca213,
I totally agree that this poem from the prison in Yuma, Arizona is funny. Brings a smile to my face every time I am reminded of it.........so thanks for the comment and reminder.
goldentoad says:
9 months ago
I can't believe people existed in Yuma before Air Conditioning, why would they even need a prison there, just drop them off in the area and leave with their horse, I'd be crying for my mama too.