Winding Down.
The last rumbling tractor halts to eject
village farmhands
and silence greets dusk as day dies in
satisfied yawns
.
Dry laundry on lines tangles and wets
in twilight drizzle
while cats doing their rounds
watch for dinner in hay-ricked barns
as scent of baked bread
mixes roast aroma with pie smells to
welcome fok trundling home.
A hungry owl screams and wives shut
away free-ranging hens
for fox often roams in gloaming's cover
and eyes chicks for supper.
Kitchens now lit with simmering sparks
of aproned activity
wipes red cheeks with floury glance
at hall clock and ticks off baking
done and ready.
Boiling eggs brownly chink in pans for
immediate starters and cream
clots in stirred and hearthed tins to fill
scones for empty returners.
Dozing herders, sheep-folded canines flop
dog-tired nearest fireside warmth
and any commands to move over fall on
ears deafened by well earned snores.
Yard's old gates creak as young maids
take last peeps at labouring ewes
sheltering under nearby
hedgerows and hope morrow's dawn
will break drier on hillsides
for suckling in squally chill can carry off
fragile new-borns and female
hearts bend toward needs in nature.
Day winding down again sees nighttime
make rainy descent
on countryside holdings and those
whose labour rarely ends.
-
Author:
Fay Slimm. (
Offline) - Published: September 4th, 2018 05:12
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 63
- User favorite of this poem: Lorna.
Offline)
Comments5
Oh Fay - whenever you write nostalgically about countryside living you always take me with you. You've done it with the sea as well. I wasn't born to farm life but working with the horses all those years with my husband left me loving the smells, the nature all around and the day's end satisfaction after being with all that for a full day. Thanks for this beautiful picture ...
So pleased the read helped you remember those lovely times working with horses dear Lorna - - being close to nature fills us with satisfaction at day's end - - thank you for your comment and for sharing the nostalgia.
Very good write a tribute to those who work on farms, many do not just how hard they have to work.
Yes Goldi - farm workers have a place of tribute in my opinion - - glad you agree and thank you for the comment.
Ooooo FAY ~ Your elegant ODE paints a busy but less frenetic life style (before my Time) in the Middle of the last Century. West Country Farming ! Rumbling tractors ~ Laundry on the line ~ Owls & foxes ~ Country kitchens ~ Boiling eggs ~ Sheep dogs ~ Creaking gates ~ New born lambs ~ Chores 24/7 ! In some aspects LIFE was HARDER but I guess (without information overkill) people were HAPPIER ? Thanks for caring ~ BRIAN ~ Please check my FUSION on Seasons ~ Thanks B 🧡
Thanks Brian for the visit and read - and yes life was and still is hard on a working farm but I would agree that labour outdoors with animal husbandry brings more satisfaction than frenetic city life -- but each to their own and workers in cities have a valuable place in society today. Pleased you enjoyed the tribute to family co-operation down on the farm.
Good write Fay.
Thanks for the visit and read dear Orchi - - workers on farms have all weather daily jobs looking after the livestock etc and deserve a few lines of tribute methinks.
Hi, Fay. I really enjoyed your poem. I was raised around a farm, and I miss those days very much.
Ah how pleased I am that the read about countryside living brought back happy memories w.c. - - every member of farm families gives valuable help to get a day's work done and I felt such workers deserved a small tribute for pulling together - -thank you for your visit and comment.
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