A retiring farmer’s lament

The wind just keeps on blowin’ The frosts and no rain makes

sure nothin’s growin’ There’s been droughts, fires, floods, grasshoppers and mice In the days of merinos there

was flies and lice No rhyme, no rhythm, there

seems no reason No such thing as a normal

season The trick they say… cut hay,

store grain Build sheds, buy silos, pray

for rain Great times too, our dogs

and pet lambs The kids growing up and

swimming in dams Gemma, Zeke, Osama Bin

Llama No shortage of friends in the

life of a farmer The bush and the birds and

homemade beer Peace and pleasure, no city

noise here Outdoors all my life, fresh air and aroma “She’ll be right mate”… but now melanoma Feeding sheep, build a fence,

tired arms and sore back No-one here to take up

the slack The government departments,

red tape and computers Ridiculous issues set up to

confuse us So here we are another year, What now, what next, where

to from here Get off the land, don’t leave

it too late But my heart’s here, maybe

we’ll wait My daughter says “Prepare

for transition” Good advice and ideas from

an OT physician No good getting old, bitter

and depressed With love and support I’ve

got it assessed Live for the moment, all

happy and that Just bright and simple like

The Cat In The Hat