didn’t mean to be
eavesdropping, sitting
in auction ring gallery
waiting for our cattle to sell
when two buyers in front of us
start shooting the bull about
their new houses:
“7000 square feet”
“WHY?!”
“because I can!”
yet farmers can’t get square price…
Join dVerse poets serving up quadrilles today…
a poem in my pocket 
Sep 08, 2020 @ 15:45:55
Ouch! That truth hurts. And I know some of it first hand. I live in a rural community and farmers are at the mercy of the markets and the weather and politicians and so many other things. Supply and demand is touch when you have goods that can’t just be piled in a warehouse waiting for the prices to improve.
Sep 09, 2020 @ 06:17:26
Yes, Mary, you understand the farmers’ vulnerability!
Sep 08, 2020 @ 13:20:58
Well done Lynn!
Sep 09, 2020 @ 06:17:54
thank you, Linda 🙂
Sep 08, 2020 @ 08:37:50
Don’t know if you meant to have the “play on words” but I sure smiled at it. Sitting at the livestock auction, watching the cattle and having the men “shoot the bull” in front of you 🙂 Yep — there was always a lot of visiting that went on at those auctions. I only went to one and was amazed at the talking, the dry dust kicked up by the animals’ hooves, and the prices!
Sep 08, 2020 @ 09:43:19
I appreciate your comments. I’m glad you noticed the bull (shot) in this scene, Lillian 😉
Sep 08, 2020 @ 00:35:48
So sad. These farmers work their fingers to the bone. I watched a special about the high rate of suicide among farmers.
Sep 08, 2020 @ 09:45:46
It’s a growing trend, sadly.
Sep 07, 2020 @ 21:18:26
That would grate on me too 😕 Were they real farmers or “the landed gentry”? Well said Lynn.
Sep 08, 2020 @ 09:48:36
No, these weren’t farmers talking. They buy beef for the big packing houses…and keep profits for themselves.
Sep 08, 2020 @ 10:27:08
I guess it’s their job, but hard to swallow that big showy talk when times are hard for so many. 😢. They need to think before they speak.
Sep 07, 2020 @ 18:42:45
This is a sad situation indeed. Hope the hard work eventually pays off.
Sep 07, 2020 @ 18:46:15
Thanks, Grace…farming, like most businesses, has ups and downs, highs and lows.
Sep 07, 2020 @ 18:26:17
No better than cattle rustlers. Hang ’em High!
Sep 09, 2020 @ 06:23:06
My husband appreciated this comment, Lisa…thanks!
Sep 09, 2020 @ 12:20:33
🙂
Sep 07, 2020 @ 17:39:25
Brilliantly penned and described. It is sad, isn’t it?
Sep 07, 2020 @ 17:41:22
It hurts to see my son and husband work so hard and not get a fair price.
Sep 07, 2020 @ 17:34:47
This is so poignant. There are many people out there in the world amongst us who take great pride in materialistic gain.
Sep 07, 2020 @ 17:40:07
Too true, Sanaa…and some are in debt up to their eyeballs just to look rich.
Sep 07, 2020 @ 17:44:25
Precisely!
Sep 07, 2020 @ 15:53:54
So pertinent to our times lynn!
Sep 07, 2020 @ 15:42:44
Why would anyone need 7000 square feet? Or is that where they keep the cattle? Farmers get a raw deal, even here in the UK.
Sep 07, 2020 @ 17:37:40
Haha…yes, should run some cattle in that 7000 square feet!
Sep 07, 2020 @ 15:27:01
How the other half live…well put!
Sep 07, 2020 @ 14:53:48
There are always those who make money on the back of others…
Sep 07, 2020 @ 18:40:18
Yep, it’s the way of the world.
Sep 07, 2020 @ 14:48:18
Nice one. Happy Monday. Stay Safe.
much 💝 love
Sep 07, 2020 @ 14:55:39
Thanks, Gillena, you too!