The Crofters Cottage

The Crofters wife sits so forlorn

Wondering how into this life she was born

Days full of hard work and drudgery

All hard work and constant misery

Her home a desolate and lonely place

Shown by the lines that she has on her face

Old long before her time it seems

Her life just full of empty dreams

On the outside looking in

That’s our view of how life was back then

But if the truth be told that was not the case

To her the home was a caring and loving place

Married to a man at just sixteen

Went off together not to be seen

By prying eyes for many long years

Her life was full of love not many tears

Both worked hard to build up their home

Made from Slate, Sod and Stone

The walls were quite thick, kept out the cold

A Raging Fire to keep them warm, as they grow old

The Roof made out of Turf and heavy Thatch

At one end there is even a small patch

That lets out the smoke from their big Iron Stove

To make a loving home they did basically strove

Two rooms was all they had to share

One was the bedroom with the Bed that they shared

Nights of passion at the end of the day

That’s how so many Children came there way

Her loving smile lights up her day

So to send him on his merry way

To tend his Sheep, to keep them safe

With one of his son’s a small light waif

In the room they all share

Lots of washing hanging there

In a Crib rocking, to-ing and fro-ing

The baby sleeps whilst mother is sewing

Small hard beds to sleep in at night

Just Straw covers to keep them warm as is their plight

In their slumber throughout the dark

Early morning wake up just like the Lark

Alone all day, kids at school, her man a work

All of these duties to do no time to shirk

Washing, Baking, Loaves to make

Even time sometimes to bake a Cake

Hands are all callused, legs scratched, clothes torn

But she’s happy and contented

Because her loving union is so well cemented

Their drinks are Water and a little Wine

Made from the Berries of an outside Raspberry Vine

Their little Garden feeds them so well

To them although hard, they think life is swell

They have had a hard life of course that is true

It seem very terrible to me and you

But to them they had each other and plenty of love

And also strong guidance from him above

To us years later we wonder how

They survived such a harsh life until now

Because now we see that life to them was so simple

They always considered what they had was ample