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The Furrows of Life

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The weary ploughman shuffles along the deserted bridle path, his day-long work completed, furrows wound around his piece of land, just arable enough to provide his daily bread. His dreary shack is cold and bare, just a few essentials. Oh, once it thrived, but that, alas, was quite a long past. Slow movements help him light his fire, and hang inside the hearth a pot full of vegetables harvested from small plots that once was a sort of garden of his wife. Waiting for his meagre repast, he sits. upon a decrepit sofa, thinking of the furrows and what he could sow there provided he manages to find the seeds and tubers for the next Thanksgiving Day. Furrows, furrows everywhere, so very like the furrows of his weary days gone by. The day when he was barely ten years old, came home to find his drunkard of a father dead at last from cirrhosis of the liver. Left school and began to till the land under the caring eyes of his once-battered mother. The day he met plain Jane, shy and speechless, they walked along the banks of a lonely stream, never uttering a word, never holding hands until the day they finally got married. Then, the worst furrow of all, the day his child Was born prematurely stillborn. That day he could not mourn. Only his wife cried. Until some years later she too followed her child. And still, he would not mourn, bottled-up grief. Yet he had one firm conviction. The paths of life lead slowly to the last furrow, there to find, at last, eternal peace.

Copyright © | Year Posted 2024




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Date: 9/9/2024 3:54:00 PM
Heart-rending and poignant poem on this man's life. I felt much compassion reading it. I hope your week has begun well, Victor. All the best. :)
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Date: 9/9/2024 11:43:00 AM
A sad verse with great imagery with eternal peace. Enjoyed hugs eve
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Date: 9/4/2024 1:31:00 AM
“Bottled up grief” that stanza really made me tear up dear victor. So many suffer in silence and suppress their emotions . This is another one of your excellent poems that made me feel so much, you do that effortlessly everytime! And i cant help but read it over and over! The storytelling and soulful nature of this really hits strong! Pleasure reading this! Sending you always light… slowly getting back on here and to writing
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Date: 9/3/2024 6:26:00 PM
I wish he had captured a little joy. This is a well written poem of the drudgery of life and love. Thanks for your talent given.
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Date: 9/3/2024 1:21:00 PM
Your poetic skills never seem to amaze me..
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Date: 9/3/2024 4:27:00 AM
Wow! A brilliant poem! Described so well . Sad, but filled with truths many face in life. Well done!! :)
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Date: 9/3/2024 3:33:00 AM
What a heart break it must have been, such a loss of life never goes un remembered, sometimes unprocessed but never unrecalled by the heart and soul. Your one amazing poet and even better human being, who loved loves and is loved still, from earth and from heaven above. Lilian is holding the child safely in her arms, and waiting for a big reunion in the sky, Much love, V
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Date: 9/2/2024 8:23:00 PM
This is such a heart wrenching poem. It has literally made my eyes tear up. The life of a farmer who toils in the land is never smooth. His fortune is so erratic. Fate too has been cruel to him. Still he lives on with the hope of finding eternal peace! Well done, Victor!
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Date: 9/2/2024 12:50:00 PM
Pensively written, greater the calamity that his walk is not his own.
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Date: 9/2/2024 11:11:00 AM
Sounds to me like the series of movies "Sarah: Plain and Tall"- how tragic this is...working the land I hear is very hard on the spirit...enjoyed your writing
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Date: 9/2/2024 10:00:00 AM
Oh, such a murmur of still beauty, collected on the edges of your heart, your breath, your thoughts... ministering to the lonely, the neglected, the aching souls. I love this, Victor, Beautifully done. God bless you, love, Gina
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Date: 9/2/2024 9:41:00 AM
Dear Victor, oh, the accumulation of life’s furrows! I was captivated in the sad beauty of your creative expression. The melancholy mood of your vivid imagery brought me to stand by the side of this “weary ploughman” in silent observation and empathy. A brilliant piece! Warmest wishes my poet friend.. ~Susan
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Date: 9/2/2024 8:10:00 AM
"Yet he had one firm conviction. The paths of life lead slowly to the last furrow, there to find, at last, eternal peace." Well put. For sure, if not for the grace of God, there go I.
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Date: 9/2/2024 6:01:00 AM
What an awesome metaphor you've used here Vic. Interestingly, I was just reading about the plight of the American farmer, and how there are becoming fewer and fewer. Your poem of course deals with personal grief. Yes, we're all destined for the soil from whence we came
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Date: 9/2/2024 5:53:00 AM
Wow, the extreme sadness but the firm conviction that drives your poetic feat!
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Date: 9/1/2024 8:05:00 PM
Victor your poem and its sad theme tugged at my heart. Sometimes, when life holds one misfortune after another, the only balm is hope. Nicely done.
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Date: 9/1/2024 2:23:00 PM
A sad life was had by the hard working ploughman in this story/poem Victor, life isn’t much fun for some. Well written… Beryl
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Date: 9/1/2024 12:16:00 PM
Victor, you have done a great job of composing a stark piece of subsistence farming and grief. I like how you paint the scene with furrows. This poem turns in amazing ways. A fav.
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Date: 9/1/2024 9:08:00 AM
He certainly had a hard life Victor and experienced many tragedies. Quite a sad verse, we have to count our blessings sometimes and realise how lucky we are. Tom I
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