Australian Poems That Would Boggle a Bull

FARM SAFETY

Our grandson's with us for a while, he comes from interstate;
A clever little bloke he is, although he's only eight.
As I'm working round the farm, or busy in the shed,
He's there beside me, watching me, or hearing what I've said.

But, worse than that, he picks me up on things I don't do right:
"Hey! Pa!" he says, "You're grinding steel, you must protect your sight!"
I grab the goggles off the shelf, and, with a "Thank you, son,"
I carry on, more safely, with the job I've just begun.

I used my chainsaw yesterday up in our patch of scrub,
But, just before I went up there, I saw the little cub
Come running out the farmhouse door - he called to me, "Hey! Pa!
Your earmuffs, or so Grandma says, are somewhere in the car!"

I muttered words beneath my breath, and grabbed the wretched things;
But then my little grandson, Ben, held up a piece of string.
"You'll need this, Pa, to tie up Jed, while driving on the track,
You know that many dogs are hurt by falling off the back."

The dog looked somewhat mystified, he'd not been tied before,
But he had fallen more than once, and pulled up rather sore.
"Oh, thank you, lad," I said to Ben, and drove off in the ute,
Thinking how the little bloke's incredibly astute.

This morning I was splitting wood, and guess who's on the go?
"Hey! Pa! You've got your slippers on, that isn't safe, you know!"
"I'll only be a minute, son; I'm taking extra care!"
And then the rotten handle broke, and caught me unaware.

So now I'm at the doctor's, and my foot is pretty crook,
He's busy putting stitches in, and I don't want to look.
But here beside me, watching all, is Ben, the know-all nipper.
"I told Pa that it wasn't safe to cut wood in his slippers!"

 

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ISBN:  978 0 646 32172 1

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CONTENTS

Murphy's Law on the Farm
Time
The Dead Quoll
Fergy
Black Cockatoos
Just Desserts
Spiders
The Huntsman Spider
The Letterbox
Bushfire
A Paradox
The Old Grindstone
Strength
Old Joe
Mice
Old Rover
The Gateway
Farm Sounds
The Local Hall
The Tawny Frogmouth
Not Guilty
The Masked Plover
Modern Times
Heartache
Where Is Summer?
Conversation
The Fire
Records
Fog
Fresh Meat
Bag Aprons
Bushwalking
The Centipede
An Old Mate
A Winer's Morning
Imagination?
What Do I Miss?
Tranquility
Horses
Rural Olympics
A Swarm Of Bees
The Playypus
Farm Safety
Firewood
Chimneys
Happy New Year
The Old Farm Truck
The Country Letterbox
The Creek
What Should I Do?
Road Kill
The Sky At Night
New Neighbours
Rain
Bulldog Ants
Animal Clothing
Thunderstorm
Hay
The Scythe
Wonderment
Christmas Carols In The Park
The Merits Of Ferrets
The Sugar Glider