THE RELEVANCE OF TIME
Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 9:25 am
THE RELEVANCE OF TIME
He asked me what the time was and I said I couldn’t tell
for alas my watch was broken but twice a day it worked well.
He looked at me quite strangely and I thought I saw a smirk
so I answered quite politely “I don’t need a watch to work.
I get up every morning as the sun begins to rise
and sometimes even earlier just to let my eyes
look over paddocks to make sure all is well.
I don’t need a watch to tell me it is morning – I can tell.
After I’ve had a coffee I go out to feed the dogs
and the chooks, collect the eggs, check water bowls for frogs
which I evict and then I gather up some wood for the old stove.
I don’t need a watch to tell me what the time is – I just know.
I knead the dough to make the bread and put it there to rise.
Go make the beds, sweep kitchen out, sweep window tracks for flies.
Go and water the veggie patch, pick lemons from the tree
and my stomach gives a rumble – must be time for morning tea.
I load the Ute with lick blocks and a bale or two of hay
fill drums with golden corn globules, tie two dogs on the tray.
With belching smoke and bunny hops the Ute goes down the track
it will be lunchtime when I’m finished feeding sheep then I’ll be back.
I take the time to sit and listen to the daily news,
have a nanna nap, a short one – just a little tiny snooze
before getting up and going out. Some carrots I collect
along with fresh peas and some beans and then I recollect.
that the neighbour said she drop in for a coffee and chat
so I whip up Lemonade scones ‘cause those I’ve got down pat.
By my reckoning it’s 3 pm – an educated guess
even though my watch now doesn’t work - with common sense I’m blessed.
So dinners in the oven and the night sky’s growing dark
I feed the dogs and draw the blinds, blow embers to a spark
and then a flame in the wood stove put some ironbark logs in
thinking it must be close to night – for daylights getting dim.
So you see that’s why I do not care that this old watch is broke
for out here we work from sun up to sun down - we’re country folk.
None of us are clock watchers; we work to the Earths tune
but if you’d like my estimation it’s ten minutes to noon.”
Maureen Clifford © 04/11
He asked me what the time was and I said I couldn’t tell
for alas my watch was broken but twice a day it worked well.
He looked at me quite strangely and I thought I saw a smirk
so I answered quite politely “I don’t need a watch to work.
I get up every morning as the sun begins to rise
and sometimes even earlier just to let my eyes
look over paddocks to make sure all is well.
I don’t need a watch to tell me it is morning – I can tell.
After I’ve had a coffee I go out to feed the dogs
and the chooks, collect the eggs, check water bowls for frogs
which I evict and then I gather up some wood for the old stove.
I don’t need a watch to tell me what the time is – I just know.
I knead the dough to make the bread and put it there to rise.
Go make the beds, sweep kitchen out, sweep window tracks for flies.
Go and water the veggie patch, pick lemons from the tree
and my stomach gives a rumble – must be time for morning tea.
I load the Ute with lick blocks and a bale or two of hay
fill drums with golden corn globules, tie two dogs on the tray.
With belching smoke and bunny hops the Ute goes down the track
it will be lunchtime when I’m finished feeding sheep then I’ll be back.
I take the time to sit and listen to the daily news,
have a nanna nap, a short one – just a little tiny snooze
before getting up and going out. Some carrots I collect
along with fresh peas and some beans and then I recollect.
that the neighbour said she drop in for a coffee and chat
so I whip up Lemonade scones ‘cause those I’ve got down pat.
By my reckoning it’s 3 pm – an educated guess
even though my watch now doesn’t work - with common sense I’m blessed.
So dinners in the oven and the night sky’s growing dark
I feed the dogs and draw the blinds, blow embers to a spark
and then a flame in the wood stove put some ironbark logs in
thinking it must be close to night – for daylights getting dim.
So you see that’s why I do not care that this old watch is broke
for out here we work from sun up to sun down - we’re country folk.
None of us are clock watchers; we work to the Earths tune
but if you’d like my estimation it’s ten minutes to noon.”
Maureen Clifford © 04/11
