Poems, Stories - Australia, Stories - Growing Up

Another Day on the Land

1962-ian-surveys-the-farm-2

 

Dancing leaves all greet the sun

Now the day has just begun.

Pigeon coos to lend support,

Finished with the insect caught.

 

Flowers reaching to the sky

Bending with their dew supply

Add to chorus morning came

Flaunting colours without shame.

 

Clouds are peeping from on high

On their perches in the sky,

Daring winds to send them on

To many places far beyond.

 

Cows in meadows send their call

From a distance looking small;

Barking dogs will bring them round

To the nearby milk compound.

 

School bus standing by the shed

Awakened from its evening bed

Will soon collect unwilling load

For school beyond this rural road.

 

Tractor growls to early start

With urgent lurch to do its part

While farmer squints at paddock far,

Swinging gate now wedged ajar.

 

Woman stirring cooking pot

Wipes her face, she’s feeling hot;

Checks to see the oven fed

Lots of wood to bake the bread.

 

Eldest daughter scrubbing floor

Thinks of wedding soon in store,

Hoping that her lover Jed

Will opt for city life instead.

 

Such is life upon the land

Everybody lends a hand,

Those who labour hard this way

Live to eat another day.

 

“© Copyright Ian Grice 2017 All rights reserved”

 

 

 

 

 

 

18 thoughts on “Another Day on the Land”

  1. Great!

    On Wed, Jan 18, 2017 at 3:41 PM, ianscyberspace wrote:

    > ianscyberspace posted: ” Dancing leaves all greet the sun Now the day > has just begun. Pigeon coos to lend support, Finished with the insect > caught. Flowers reaching to the sky Bending with their dew supply Add to > chorus morning came Flaunting colours with” >

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. Great poem to bring views in my mind of a day on the farm. I could almost smell bread baking and nature’s aromas as I read. Great picture of you sitting out among the beauty of nature. Hard work on the farm but I do miss those days. Hugs

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. That is a very old photo as you can see from damage to the slide from which I took a digital image. We kids liked our farm experience, but then we enjoyed all our childhood experiences both country and town. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. That’s me before the rock and roll era arrived Cindy. I graduated to army crew cuts, then long hair, a fad that went on through to 1985 when I went to Singapore where long hair and beards are not welcome. 🙂

      Like

      Reply

  8. Thanks for your visit and comment Eric. I drew on the few years we spent on multiple farms when my Dad was trading his way out of a financial black hole. He learned that farming had no wealth building to it during that era, but stocking, planting crops, fencing then selling was a profitable business. It’s not an easy life. We kids liked it but were unaware of the hardships our parents suffered financially during the initial drought years on a farm. They insulated us from those hardships and we enjoyed our childhood as a result. Our home was a place of nurture and support. I’m sitting here on a farm nor far from where we live which my Father looked at as a prospective buy. Had he done so those hills now covered in houses looking toward the sea would have yielded him the life of a multi millionaire. But who can see the future clearly? 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. I love this, Ian – an enchanting rhyme that captures the morning rise. A hard, harsh but fulfilling life – and for most of us – of times gone by.

    “School bus standing by the shed
    Awakened from its evening bed”

    Nice approach – a unique POV, as were the opening lines of the tractor.

    All good wishes,
    Eric

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.