Blind Views

I stare at the world through slats in the blind Which are partly obscuring the dazzle at times There's nothing particular to spot there today As even the birds seem to have all flown away But once in a while a tractor growls down the track Hauling a jangling old plough or a planter at back Then later the post van is speeding here with the bills Soon I watch our Postie get in and out of the chills In past times we chatted when the dogs were inside But now I'm in here while they bark out their pride He'll stop at one house though and sample some tea But there's nowt going on - it's his sister you see Just across the river in the giant glass houses there All trays have been cleaned and stacked with such care Not much more to do now for a good month or two Soon be time for their rest in the warmth of Corfu Not far from their place is a great old machine yard See bright yellow lorries sport scuffs where they sparred With anything that didn't yield to their determined path 'Another post over' you may hear their drivers laugh A few hundred yards more just out of sight on the bend Is a specialist scrap yard with old machines that they mend And sell back to farmers for much less than when new In these cash strapped times there's a few more in view When times past we ambled my old dog Griff and I Some walls were crumbling and I thought they might try To patch up or rebuild them but still they survive If they fell in a high wind it would be no great surprise At the jetty quite near there is a boat on the Glen A spot where a while since I fed our ducks and their friend The swans have moved on now and the grebes cannot be seen For the best pickings have gone though the waters still green It's time for a drink now so maybe I'll potter off to The kitchen where there is much less of a view Some soup and a sandwich will be nice I do think Just as soon as I've washed all the pots in the sink... ©Rhumour October 6th 2008 Edit February 2016 (Note: this edited version is different from that in the paperback 'Rhumour Has It'