Yesterday a farmer left the earth
Tomorrow to it he will return
His family grieves together
The women’s eyes may burn
But he himself he never mourned
He knew it soon would be his turn
For the globe spins round
And with the sun our lives do set.
—
He always looked after me well
The role he happily played
He was given no boys of his own
But into men we were made
He lived his life in deeds
His lessons were not said
My brother and I, his nephews, his sons
Of his life well-lived we benefit.
—
When I was a child he gave me the what
As a young man he gave me the how
Perhaps as an old man I’ll have the why
A wisdom yet mysterious now
But his example is simple as ever
To his land he made a vow
To care for his own, his name, his blood
With weathered earthly loyalty.
—
I have a farm of my own these days
In December it rests, still
Mine has mountains and valleys
His had a creek and a hill
But he showed me how to tend it
He taught me nature’s will
He gave me the art of rest
With a foot on a rail of the fence by the barn.
—
His soul floats from this world today
With it its warmth does go
But the gravity of his spirit
In the heavens gathers to show
The light of a star that my sons’ sons
Its radiance will always know
His life lives on in ours forever
We do our best to share its glow.