Edward Cody Huddleston

By Edward Cody Huddleston
Baxley, Georgia, USA

Rockwell’s art is as American as apple pie
and Agent Orange!

There’s nothing wasted in his work;
each stroke is one of genius.

One painting will make you nostalgic for a malt shop
driven out of business by McDonald’s before you were born.
And the next? Well, the next reminds you that Ruby Bridges exists.
And whoever wrote that on the wall behind her existed.
And what made them what they were still exists
in the laws of our nation, the fabric of our culture,
and in our cities, wearing combat boots and balaclavas,
as they drag children from their homes and throw them into vans.

So when people say that Norm reminds them of the good old days,
always remind them that he eventually realized they weren’t the good old days.