My father's laughter touched us all None of our family was immune, When he was bright the children danced Under the waxing autumn moon.
But work and fear of poverty Drove him to exceed his strength As he pushed us well beyond our scope In seasons of unendurable length.
We toiled in heat and freezing cold And with the greening earth were one Shovel, hoe and pick to us Familiar as the wind and sun.
The grading rakes, aluminium, Blackened our sore and callused hands But youth and freedom suffered most. The burning muscles heated strands
Persisted throbbing through the night Momentarily relieved By showers hot as we could stand If youth's remembrance is believed.
But how we loved this driven soul, The body's complaints pushed aside, No sacrifice too great for him And nothing could shake his children's pride.
Now in the autumn of my years These highlight reels of memory Are filled with scenes of childhood joy In crystal streams and icy seas.
Poems Undated (1727)
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Narad
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