navwin » Archives » Open Poetry #45 » Better Ways to Earning a Dollar
Open Poetry #45
Post A Reply Post New Topic Better Ways to Earning a Dollar Go to Previous / Newer Topic Back to Topic List Go to Next / Older Topic
LindsayP
Member Elite
since 2007-07-28
Posts 3410
Australia, Victoria

0 posted 2009-08-07 10:14 PM



          Better Ways to Earn A Dollar

  My father owned a farm diverse and I was bred upon the land,
  We grazed a thousand head of sheep and milked the cows by hand,
  We ran a good-sized piggery too and a small poultry farm complete
  And tilled the hungry black soil plains and grew a fair amount of wheat.

  From back in the middle fifties for almost another twenty years,
  Farming had never been as good since the days of the pioneers,
  A few good seasons eased the strain and good times seemed to abound,
  Excitement with a new car bought when wool reached a pound a pound.

  It was back in nineteen seventy-five that farming fortunes start to slip
  And I realized in the nick of time that I would have to abandon ship,
  Wages grew and expenses too and farming was a difficult path to foller,
  T’was plain to see for the wife & me there’s better ways to earn a dollar.

  So for another twenty years or so I mixed farming with driving trucks
  And a lot of other farmers did the same to try and help improve their luck,
  A woolgrower friend that in the end was literally down upon his knees,
  The best wool cheque he’d had in years & now the sheep have OVJ disease.

  For the last decade he’d been afraid that he’d never rise above the mire
  And now he hoped with a bit of luck that he might find a future buyer,
  The cost of shearing’s out of hand & all other costs the wool cheque swaller,
  I’ve now got the bug to pull the plug , there’s better ways to earn a dollar.

  For a while dairy farmers did quite well & dairying seemed in a solid state
  But now they are all quite concerned as they see the industry deregulate,
  An old dairy farmer said to me, 'I think I’ll go and  work for Mr Grollo',
  Working every day for thirty years, there’s better ways to e dollar.

  Another old friend who’d always defend the advantage of growing all wheat
  But locusts took the first decent crop in years & at last he admitted defeat,
  He said with sadness to me he had to agree there must be easier pathways to foller,
  A farmer at heart, right from the start , now there must be better ways of earning a dollar.

  Black Jack O’Keefe for years grew beef, we thought he was doing well no doubt,  
  Confided to me after a beer or three he’s still paying for the previous drought.
  I’ve struggled for years, always in arrears & now at the end of my tether,
  The beef jobs not as good as it rightfully should, we are far too reliant on weather.

  So it now seems so many dreams are being eroded for the man on the land
  And although Jack has tried he’s finally denied his dream to finally expand,
  If I could give up the job & earn a few bob some other way in the working collar
  My very first vow would be give up the cows, there’s better ways of earning a dollar.

  My orchardist friends who largely depend on the market to sell all their fruit
  But the hailstones & frost have jacked up the cost and now they are near destitute,
  Those that survive will have to certainly strive & not give up the on going fight,
  For the outcome is bleak when I read of last week of the danger of NZ fire blight.

  In these modern times the wage earner does fine with four weeks annual vacation,
  Twelve days rostered off, they live like a toff, enjoying a great sense of elation,
  Fifteen sick days each year without shedding a tear & still you can hear them all holler,
  All public holidays as well, it beats the living hell out of farming for earning a dollar.

Lindsay

© Copyright 2009 Lindsay P Wilson - All Rights Reserved
Bill Charles
Member Patricius
since 2000-07-11
Posts 10619
highways, & byways, for now
1 posted 2009-08-08 12:12 PM


Linsay - I knew farming was a tough road to hoe, and you explained it well...

BC

Heart2Heart
Senior Member
since 2009-05-15
Posts 738
Scotland/Norway
2 posted 2009-08-08 02:22 AM


Oh I can just imagine the work in those days, because I can see it's still hard work even with milking machines these days and fast clipping machines for those bountiful sheep ....      Another beauty from real life from your poetic pen, always a delight dear Lindsay.
Katriona

suthern
Deputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Seraphic
since 1999-07-29
Posts 20723
Louisiana
3 posted 2009-08-12 06:07 PM


Farming is hard... and as years go by, the hardships outweigh the rewards more and more. The "crop" of preference in the area of my childhood is now... pine trees. *S* They grow... and everyone works jobs that give a steady paycheck during the wait.

Excellent write!

crosscountry83
Member
since 2009-07-30
Posts 345

4 posted 2009-08-12 11:35 PM


I just love the rhyming and how the meter is set up! It appears as though you put a lot of work into it.

Rileigh

Alison
Deputy Moderator 5 ToursDeputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Rara Avis
since 2008-01-27
Posts 9318
Lumpy oatmeal makes me crazy!
5 posted 2009-08-13 01:58 AM


Lindsay,

What a hard way to earn a dollar!  It's sad how weather, government and other hardships almost make it impossible to make a living off the land.  You wrote of the struggles well - and my heart broke a little bit for the man who finally made some money only to have his sheep become dieased.  Did I understand that part right?  You share your world so well with us.

Thank you.

xoxoxo
Alison

Post A Reply Post New Topic ⇧ top of page ⇧ Go to Previous / Newer Topic Back to Topic List Go to Next / Older Topic
All times are ET (US). All dates are in Year-Month-Day format.
navwin » Archives » Open Poetry #45 » Better Ways to Earning a Dollar

Passions in Poetry | pipTalk Home Page | Main Poetry Forums | 100 Best Poems

How to Join | Member's Area / Help | Private Library | Search | Contact Us | Login
Discussion | Tech Talk | Archives | Sanctuary