Chicken Farmer

chicken farmer

They called him a chicken farmer but he only had one chicken

They called him a chicken farmer ’cause’ he scratched the dirt to make a livin’

So hungry one day he ate his only chicken

Nothing left of that bird but some finger lickin’

 

Trying to pull food from a patch of ground

A struggle from sun up to sun down

His field was full of sticks and stones

HIs name was John but they called him bones

 

The drought dried up his farming dream

The flood took his house down stream

Day after day nothing but bad luck

The bank foreclosed taking his last buck

 

He headed his old rusty truck to town

Misfortune had finally gotten’ him down

Finding work for a chicken farmer is hard

Came the perfect job, tending a grave yard

 

They still call him a chicken farmer even without a chicken

He’s still scratching the dirt to make a livin’

HIs field is still full of sticks and stones

But the sticks are shaped like crosses and names are on the stones

 

He digs six foot holes

He plants departed souls

His plots are in a neatly spaced row

This is one crop he hopes won’t grow

 

They may call him a chicken farmer but now he’s doing well

Its easy living’ and his family is doing swell

He’s not plowing’ and digging’ or getting’ dirty

He’s just waitin’ for his social security

John West
Latest posts by John West (see all)
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail

John West

Retired school teacher. Live 6 months on Bainbridge Island, WA, 6 months in Scottsdale, AZ. Grew up in Santa Monica, CA. Hobbies beside writing are golf, chain saw carving, cowboy fast draw. I write cowboy poetry, short stories, non-fiction. Check out my web site jwgoodreads.com

3 thoughts on “Chicken Farmer

  • February 22, 2017 at 11:58 PM
    Permalink

    John, I am so happy to read your first post here. This is a great poem, I love it. You did a good job. It was a pleasure to talk with you on the phone this morning and I am so pleased you caught on so fast to publish your first poem with us. Well done, my friend, well done.

  • February 23, 2017 at 5:25 AM
    Permalink

    Well, this was certainly a unique piece o writing, John. Quite a fun piece to read. Good to have you here at TCE. I look forward to reading more of your creativity.

  • February 23, 2017 at 8:30 AM
    Permalink

    I too would like to say welcome to TCE John. We’re always excited when a new writer joins the group and brings their skills to share with our audience. Looking forward to reading more of your work in the future!

Leave a Reply

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information

Our cookie settings are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. By continuing to browse this website you are accepting our cookie policy.

Close