Poem by Dale Pukallus
He walks into the kitchen at the end of another day
And as he sits down at the table, he has not much to say
He ponders what’s to happen, because of the long enduring dry
And it makes you wonder why you never see him cry
Every day he is out there covered in dust and flies
Watching his beloved animals die before his eyes
Poor and hungry animals that cannot get up on their feet
He takes the gun and shoots them, their lives to deplete
He works all his life to keep his animals fat and strong
Now he has to shoot them, it seems so terribly wrong
But he knows they are past the point of no return
But the welfare of his animals is his only concern
The dam is dry and the water in the bore is running out
Not a blade of grass, will we ever see the end of this bloody drought
And to buy hay well the price has gone through the roof
Financially it is impossible to buy hay for every hoof
Then there are the farmers who grow grain to make a crust
But now all they see is dry ground, lots and lots of dust
There is no rain, to germinate the seeds
And not enough to even grow a crop of useless weeds
The farmer he just stands there, looking to the sky
The entire crop he has planted is surely going to die
He keeps on wondering when this all will end
It is enough, to send you round the flamin’ bend
Then there are the wives who support their man every day
They witness everything he does and everything he has to say
They see their husband deteriorate as the black dog is nipping at his heels
Unfortunately no one knows just how he really feels
She is there to comfort him, so he can hold his head up high
But when he is not looking she will go away and cry
It’s not about herself no it’s just all about the kids
Not enough to clothe them, and their education is on the skids
They cannot afford a work man so she is down in the cattle yard
No beautiful long fingernails, it is really very sad
So much to do, no time to sit and have a manicure
When she’s in the cattle yard she’s covered in cow manure
The kids feel deserted, mum and dad are at each other’s throats
All the other kids are going on excursions in reply all they get is shouts
“We haven’t got the money so forget about it kids”
Although they shout at them, they wouldn’t give them up for quids
God why have you deserted us, don’t you really care
It looks like you don’t give a stuff, it’s not very fair
But when we look at it closely, things are pretty grim
Or is the major problem, well, have we deserted Him?
God is our only hope in these testing times
His love for us goes on for ever, no matter what our crimes
This drought is going on for years; it is very hard to cope
But remember, God’s love for us, is our lasting hope
Dale Pukallus