The Song of the Hand Dug Well
Posted By Randy on July 21, 2016
Mrs. LFM, Bairns, Dogs and I live in an antique farm house the original construction of which predates electricity and indoor plumbing. The wise and hard working crew who threw their blood, sweat, and tears into its building and sustenance dug a well 20 feet deep on the hill overlooking the house, and by their choice ensured enough gravity fed water pressure to permit all household water needs to be met even if we didn’t have an electric pump. The aquifer that feeds our well is an amazing thing, and even in this unusually dry Summer has been tenaciously retaining water. Even so, wise water management demands military showers and toilet flushes in strict accordance with the rule, “If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down.”
There’s an old joke that goes, “Some people say the glass is half empty, and some that it’s half full. I think the glass is just too damn big.” Today’s poem is inspired by that humourous sentiment, the primal tenacity of our well, and offered to Nature with the most profound thanks. Us LFM’s are sure it’ll rain again some day!
The Song of the Hand Dug Well
By LFM
I reached down twenty feet of well
Sixteen to dip my cup,
And in the dipping found four feet
Of water looking up.
The rain of Summer’s scarce this year,
But that’s no cause to cry,
Because my well is partly full
Instead of mostly dry.
If we didn't laugh, we'd cry!
Well done, so to speak. A nice bit of whimsy can brighten anyone's day. the pattern of the poem and the underlying them,e also reminds me of a poem I read about 60 years ago. Don't remember the author.
"The Optimist fell ten stories
and at each window bar
he called to those inside who gasped,
"I'm quite alright so far!"
^^^ that phrase has always interested me. In the realm of possibilities, what if we humans, upon seeing something incredibly funny, reacted by sobbing and wailing? Or if someone told a joke that fell flat,we burst into tears and smote our breast with grief? Or better yet, what if our reaction to great humor was to shriek and scream at top volume? A comedy film festival would result in ear splitting screams akin to those falling into Hell's deepest abyss. But would it seem normal if everyone did it?
I hope not.