Well the weather is not bleak
Not been frosty for many a week
The temperature is rising
So is the cost of hay too
Lambs are moaning it's quite a to do
The weather has not been stable
Farmers do what they are able
You can't call their job working bliss
As they shepherd their large flock around
To ensure that some feed can be found
I often think of Christmas cards
Showing small flock that they guard
With ewes giving milk to their lambs
Part of worship that's ever been
Is the traditional Christmas scene
Image found at www.https.pixabay.com.photos.sheep
Such a wonderful pastoral poem - you paint a glorious picture
ReplyDeleteVery much picturesque.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I see sheep I think of that long-ago scene in the stable too.
ReplyDeleteLove.
ReplyDeleteFarming has always been hard, exhausting work. And as your poem suggests, climate change is making things much harder.
ReplyDeleteyou captured a moment for me to see in my mind
ReplyDeleteA startling contrast of circumstances - the depictions that accompany our worship and the realities of our lives.
ReplyDeleteI think of all the creatures impacted by the heat - and the fires in your part of the world are truly horrifying. Farmers must struggle to tend to their creatures.
ReplyDeleteLike the way you've bot conjured and finishes this Robin - just the job for the Festive season...
ReplyDeleteA poignant pastoral poem, Robin!❤️
ReplyDeleteWorking close to the land has always had its ups and downs. My favorite of the manger scene was always the shepherd and his lambs (and the donkey)
ReplyDeleteWonderful! Tending a flock had probably always been more poetic than serene. Awesome juxtaposition in this reality vs Christmas card reflection.
ReplyDeleteI have a farmer friend. He wouldn't half kill for a pasture like that photo!
ReplyDeletei heard about the heat in Australia, and it must be tough for the farmers there.
ReplyDeleteenjoyed your poem.
Funny, we have managed to idealize both the pasture and the season--the reality is more brutal for both I think
ReplyDeleteOh, how we seem to neglect the shepherd.
ReplyDeleteSheep farming is perhaps better suited to more temperate climes.
ReplyDeleteI like how the lamb became a lovely symbol for Christ; and how the point was made that what was offered was as available to the lowly shepherd as to those bearing gold etc.