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The Next Year People, Brand new poem |
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Mar 21 09, 16:53
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Babylonian
Group: Platinum Member
Posts: 126
Joined: 29-December 08
From: Alamosa, Colorado USA
Member No.: 742
Real Name: vess quinlan
Writer of: Poetry & Prose
Referred By:serendipity
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The Next Year People
The preacher picked us out of a stream of National Western Stock Show enthusiasts as we walked toward the entrance gates on an icy sidewalk. He approached spraying spittle, pointed with a grimy hand, and shouted loudly.
"Are you people of faith? Do you believe"? Uh-oh, I thought, nobody, but nobody, shouts at Grandma.
Later, over ice cream, she said, “I've been thinking about that sidewalk preacher and what he was yelling.
I should have stopped and told him of our belief. It is pure faith to turn bulls in with cows and believe that, come spring, there will be Rambunctious white faced calves bucking and bawling and butting heads.
And when we bury tiny seed a quarter inch deep in dry soil, we believe a miracle of lushness will happen to feed us and our livestock. Is that not faith?
When hard times come, we hang on like leeches and believe that next year it won't hail out the wheat, or rain on our fresh cut hay.
Next year, all the cows will have twins and we will be able to pay the bank. Oh yes, I should have told him, We believe and have great faith because we are next year people."
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Mar 21 09, 17:43
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Group: Gold Member
Posts: 698
Joined: 29-May 06
From: US East Coast
Member No.: 185
Real Name: Peggy Harwood
Writer of: Poetry & Prose
Referred By:just wandered in
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Hi Vess,
Highly original poem!! Makes Grandma's point well!! I'd never thought about all the faith that farm people demonstrate in their daily lives before. Quite an eye opener!
Thanks for posting!!! My horizons were broadened quite a bit!!!
Peggy
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Guest_ohsteve_*
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Mar 22 09, 15:44
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Guest
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Vess, some points well made about peoples differing approaches as to faith. I will return to this to see what I might do to help trim a bit, but it reads very naturally, very real. Don't wish or want to change that. Steve
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Mar 27 09, 04:27
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Creative Chieftain
Group: Centurion
Posts: 2,587
Joined: 9-August 03
From: Australia
Member No.: 17
Real Name: John
Writer of: Poetry
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G'day Vess, This is a way bit deep. I will be checking-out your reply to Steve and Peg before I venture a comment. Interesting and thought provoking. John
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Mar 28 09, 04:18
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Creative Chieftain
Group: Centurion
Posts: 2,587
Joined: 9-August 03
From: Australia
Member No.: 17
Real Name: John
Writer of: Poetry
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So, the faith was there. It was real. Not Bible reading faith which can be insincere. The Next Year People The preacher picks us out of a stream >>> maybe, 'picked' of National Western Stock Show enthusiasts walking toward the entrance gates on the icy sidewalk. He approaches spraying spittle, >>> maybe 'approached' pointing with a grimy hand, and shouting loudly. Are you a person of faith?<<< Do you believe Madam? <<<< Maybe quotation marks if these two sentances are dialogue Uh-oh, I thought, nobody but nobody shouts at Grandma. Later, over ice cream, she said, “I've been thinking about that sidewalk preacher and what he was yelling. I should have stopped and told him of our belief. It is pure faith to turn bulls in with cows and believe that, come spring, there will be Rambunctious white faced calves bucking and bawling and butting heads. And when we bury tiny seed a quarter inch deep in dry soil, we believe a miracle of lushness will happen to feed us and our livestock. Is that not faith? When hard times come, we hang on like leeches and believe that next year it won't hail out the wheat, or rain on our newly cut hay. Next year, all the cows will have twins and we will be able to pay the bank. Oh yes, I should have told him, We believe and have great faith because we are next year people>>> Maybe a fullstop and quotation mark Those wre hard times, mate. Yep, Grandma, had faith; no two ways about it. Regards, John
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Mar 28 09, 23:15
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Ornate Oracle
Group: Praetorian
Posts: 8,875
Joined: 27-August 04
From: Bariloche, Argentine Patagonia
Member No.: 78
Real Name: Sylvia Evelyn Maclagan
Writer of: Poetry & Prose
Referred By:David Ting
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Hi Vess, I've dropped in too late in the night to make a proper reading. But I really dig this poem and its content. Having been brought up on a farm, I relate very much indeed to "next year people", a truly profound phrase of your grandma's. Love it!
On our farm, the apple crop was forever being bashed by hailstorms about a couple of weeks before harvest time. I remember my Dad fingering the apples' hanging on the bending trees, trying to decide on picking day...and then, the hail..! He used to say some goddam awful words..
I'll try to get back asap, Vess, tho' I don't think there's much to nitpic at all.
Best, Syl***
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Mis temas favoritos The Lord replied, my precious, precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.
"There is no life higher than the grasstops Or the hearts of sheep, and the wind Pours by like destiny, bending Everything in one direction."
Sylvia Plath, Crossing the Water, Wuthering Heights. Nominate a poem for the InterBoard Poetry Competition by taking into careful consideration those poems you feel would best represent Mosaic Musings. For details, click into the IBPC nomination forum. Did that poem just captivate you? Nominate it for the Faery award today! If perfection of form allured your muse, propose the Crown Jewels award. For more information, click here!MM Award Winner
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Apr 2 09, 22:04
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Ornate Oracle
Group: Praetorian
Posts: 8,875
Joined: 27-August 04
From: Bariloche, Argentine Patagonia
Member No.: 78
Real Name: Sylvia Evelyn Maclagan
Writer of: Poetry & Prose
Referred By:David Ting
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Yes, precisely, Vess. All that worry & hard work is deeply rooted in faith & love. I agree with you.
In our case, since we were quite poor, apples appeared on the table every day, in some sort of fashion, until I was SO sick of eating them..! My Dad stored them in a cold, dry room, in boxes and on shelves, and I remember him turning them around regularly, to keep them from bruising. Just the way one takes care of a bedridden person, to keep away the bed sores...wow...
And of course "our" apples were second class, the ones not sent to market..!
Nowadays, I'm very fond of apples.
Best, Syl***QUOTE (vessq @ Mar 30 09, 04:15 ) [snapback]114389[/snapback] Hi Sylvia,
Thanks for the kind words.
The note about your dad and the apples made me think of a young woman who grew up in a family apple growing and packing family.
She said her uncle would always turn to his wife when the last box was picked, packed, and shipped and say. "Now, cover me with love for I am tired of apples."
It is all about faith in and love for what we do.
Vess
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Mis temas favoritos The Lord replied, my precious, precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.
"There is no life higher than the grasstops Or the hearts of sheep, and the wind Pours by like destiny, bending Everything in one direction."
Sylvia Plath, Crossing the Water, Wuthering Heights. Nominate a poem for the InterBoard Poetry Competition by taking into careful consideration those poems you feel would best represent Mosaic Musings. For details, click into the IBPC nomination forum. Did that poem just captivate you? Nominate it for the Faery award today! If perfection of form allured your muse, propose the Crown Jewels award. For more information, click here!MM Award Winner
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Apr 17 09, 00:30
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Group: Gold Member
Posts: 262
Joined: 4-February 09
Member No.: 756
Real Name: Robin DeWalt
Writer of: Poetry
Referred By:Winning Writer's web site
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Hi Vess - My grandfather was a cattle rancher but supplemented his income as a salesman during the lean years. Farming and ranching are difficult and unreliable professions. It takes a lot of faith to continue year after year. Love the poem.
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Jul 7 09, 06:07
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Group: Gold Member
Posts: 624
Joined: 6-August 03
From: Texas
Member No.: 15
Real Name: Marcia
Writer of: Poetry & Prose
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I am not stopping by with a critique for you...I see very little that needs changing. I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed this poem of simple faith. Hard working folks have to rely a lot on this pure faith...and you are right...in light of the current economic failures...we are going to need more of it than ever. May God bless us all... ~Marcia~
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"...We are born into the world like a blank canvas and every person that crosses our path takes up the brush and makes their mark upon our surface. So it is that we develop. But we must realize there comes a day that we must take up the brush and finish the work. For only we can determine if we are to be just another painting or a masterpiece..." 1981 Javan (from the book " Meet Me Halfway" ) MM Award Winner
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