BadFisherman Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

I'm not much into poetry, but I am into appreciating it when the message is conveyed in a way that is difficult to top. My apologies for not knowing the author of this bit of philosophy. It comes from a collection of things to keep and reflect on occasionally. Though dated, it is well worth the read.

A farmer is a man
Who works out in the sun,
Wearing out two pairs of britches,
Growing cotton enough for one.

He milks his cows or slops his hogs,
Or feeds his steers too fat.
He starts each year with nothin'
And loses more of that.

At planting time or harvest,
Checking weather by his nose,
What isn't lost to drought or flood,
Is eaten by the crows.

Gamblin' is illegal,
Whether racing horses or a hound,
But day by day he'll get away,
With gambling on the ground.

A boxcar full of fertilizer,
Herbicide and seed.
Couldn't make the best corn plant
Out grow the poorest weed.

The horses have the colic,
He buys a sterile bull.
A coyote got the last chicken,
His ewes lost all their wool.

But the only lines you'll see
Upon his wrinkled face,
Are those that are caused from grinnin'
At the whole danged human race.

The smartest man would starve
Out on the family farm,
But his wife thinks he's a genius,
It doesn't do much harm.

The kids all help their papa
Through the 'work for nothing' stage,
Then they all drive 50 miles to church,
To hear a sermon on minimum wage.

Heaven help the family
That lives off the fat of the land.
Heaven help the nation
That doesn't understand.

Graywulff Loc: Cortez,Co.

AMEN

bknecht Loc: Northeast pa

Thanks BF, a good read.

Gordon Loc: Charleston South Carolina

Very good. Hope you don't mind me sharing that.

bric Loc: Helena, MT

Thanks BF, so true.

dbed Loc: POMME DE TERRE LAKE MISSOURI

my life for 66 years
didn't buy a sterile bull but did buy a gay boar

BadFisherman Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

Well, I suspect he stayed 'happy' on your farm.

BadFisherman Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

No, as I shared it with you folks...you can share it with anyone you choose.

BadFisherman Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

I certainly thought so

Randyhartford Loc: Lawrence, Kansas

Lots of truth there.....

Iowa Farmer Loc: Iowa City Iowa

Hits home. Thanks, BF!

BadFisherman Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

I suspect it did hit home with you. Been farming long

Iowa Farmer Loc: Iowa City Iowa

Started the free labor thing when I was 8,driving tractor at 10. Got heavy into hogs after college, sold out when the price crashed in the 90s. Always kept the crop production, but started part time jobs to fill the void. Started with the Post Office, worked up to full time for the bennies, still doing the crops and some livestock. To make a long story even longer, 😴 I considered myself a full time farmer for about 35 years, part time the last 11.

Fredfish Loc: Prospect CT.

Great poem BF, Thanks for posting it. And thanks Farmer, and Ed, for doing what you do.

bahmer Loc: Northern Illinois Rockford

Amen and Amen