I've Been There

The scenes of a farm life are hard to portray

To one who has never been there;

The sowing and reaping and soaking of hay,

And raising young cattle with care.

The mist of the morning, the dew of the eve,

The wind and the rain and the snow,

Each play a large part, as you well may believe.

I have been there myself and I know!

It is quite like a pastoral poem to start

While the dew yet bejewels the grass,

And drive all the cows to a pasture apart,

Where a singing brook through it may pass,

And you linger awhile where the water flows cool,

And the cowslip and peppermint grow,

It's a joy to watch those wee fish in the pool--

I have been there myself and I know!

But at night when the milking time comes, and you try

A young cow that's about three years old,

She objects to your presence and lets her feet fly,

While the pail slips away from your hold,

And she spreads you out over the landscape, maybe,

In a manner not cautious or slow;

Then the poetry fades to a startling degree.

I have been there myself and I know!

When your city friends come in the glad summer time,

How they praise up your berries and cream!

And they talk of the healthfulness, too, of the clime,

And declare country life is a dream!

Then your products will vanish with praise for their worth,

But dollars on bushes don't grow--

It's hard to raise cash, e'en tho' fertile the earth--

I have tried it myself and I know!

There is much to be done when the harvest is near,

And you're tired with the hay season, too,

But when all is made snug and the snowdrifts appear,

And the short winter day is soon through.

Then the butternuts crack and the popcorn will snap,

And the apples like rosy cheeks grow.

Why, a farm is the jolliest place on the map--

I have been there myself and I know!

Quite often some fellow, tho' bashful and shy,

In his good Sunday clothes neatly dressed,

Will call on a neighbor conveniently nigh,

Whose daughter his fancy suits best;

Then the old folks will yawn as the clock's striking ten,

And to bed they'll obligingly go,

While the two draw their chairs a bit closer, and then--

Say! You've been there yourself and you know!

E.S. Blake