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| Chilmark Hay, 1951 by Thomas Hart Benton |
©2012 Susan Noyes Anderson
From break of dawn till setting sun,
he worked until the work was done.
No perks, no flex-time, no review,
just midday sun and morning dew.
He broke the ground and planted deep,
sowed only seeds he chose to reap,
petitioned God to fill his plate,
and thanked Him for the food he ate.
With plow and pasture as world view,
his was a simple time...and true.
•••
Sad seeds of change are ours to reap,
a time to lose, a time to weep,
a time to mourn what time won't keep . . .
the work-worn hands, the weathered face,
the sense of self, the sense of place,
the land, the innocence, the grace.
To every thing, there is a season...and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:7
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•••
Sad seeds of change are ours to reap,
a time to lose, a time to weep,
a time to mourn what time won't keep . . .
the work-worn hands, the weathered face,
the sense of self, the sense of place,
the land, the innocence, the grace.
To every thing, there is a season...and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:7
click below for more mags
I have got to increase my vocabulary when I comment here. All I can say is wow, and it gave me goose bumps again. That was wonderful. Reminds me of my father-in-law who was a farmer.
ReplyDeleteOooOoo! So lovely . . . . makes me wax nostalgic for sure . . .
ReplyDeleteKristin
Would that things could stay as simple as they once were, when people took pride in hard work and reaped the reward. This is lovely.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right! Bring us to the simple (blessful) way.....everyday!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
ReplyDeleteMaybe we should take a different approach to our book...maybe this time we should take YOUR poems and I have to create images to illustrate them. Hmmm...now there's a fun idea... I might get working on that faster than our BOM project... ;)
i really connected to this one. might be my new favorite:)
ReplyDeletethere is a time for everything...i think farmers def understand that...and dependence...we have def lost much of that along the way...
ReplyDeleteAnd time waits for no man. Sometimes I feel it is so sad that we all have X amount of years and no more. Especially so, when those years are all filled with nothing but hard work.
ReplyDeleteThis is lovely Sue.
Beautifully expressed...
ReplyDeleteWow!
ReplyDeleteThis made me think of how I grew up. The work was never done. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteSo well said!He did so much for us!
ReplyDelete.. a time to sow, a time to reap ~ love how you incorporated this in your lovely poem.
ReplyDeleteI liked this VERY much! love the scripture and love the thoughts~
ReplyDeleteReminded me of visiting relatives in Utah when I was a child on their working farms. People worked physically hard back then, but it also seems like things were a bit simpler and clear cut. But maybe not.
ReplyDeleteThis is magnificent. I had to read it almost with a bit of reverence. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteanother gift. you are so generous. thank you.
ReplyDeleteMakes me wish for days gone by and makes me want to hug a farmer. :)
ReplyDeleteBeautifully said Sue. It was a time that maybe wasn't so "simple" but it did have more "grace". Many people think that they would like to go back to simpler times but are we really willing to give up the cell, the TV, the AC...we have so many more conveniences but are always rushing, feeling like we have no time. It was also a time when "right and wrong" was easier to understand. It was easier to tell what season you were really in.
ReplyDeleteI grew up on a farm....memories!
ReplyDeleteHow beautiful that was. I thought of my grandfather, and how hard he worked, until he was a very old man - no retirement for him.
ReplyDeleteThis poem reminded me of my own father. Just a very hard working good man. He was a farmer and a rancher and I miss him a lot. He loved poetry; so he would have loved this one.
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
just lovely....x
ReplyDeleteTo everything there is a season, a cycle and a rhythm, and it was echoed in your poem.
ReplyDeleteOh I cried reading this Sue! It was beautiful as all of your work is.
ReplyDeleteGil works so hard every single day too. I know when his retirement comes, it will be a sweet day.
God fills our plates too--I love how you worded that--and this verse in Ecclesiastes is one of my favorites. I say it out loud quite often, actually.
Lovely...I come from a long line of farm-folk...
ReplyDeleteLovely poetry. Well done.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful words ~ I love it ~
ReplyDeleteVery nice job and so well with the image! I knew him.
ReplyDeleteI think this is so hard to remember sometimes. We want what we want when we want it. But there is a time and season for everything. You said it so beautifully Sue, as always.
ReplyDelete