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The Old Farmer's Prayer

Author: Steve Watkins

This Page Includes: Full Verses of the Poem in Text. A Recording of the Poem (Audio). A Free PDF Download for reading purposes. Free Editable Google Doc Download if you wish to make changes or to personalise the poem. The page also includes what the poem is about, structure of poem and explaining the best parts.

The Old Farmer's Prayer Poem Verses

Time just keeps moving on,
Many years have come and gone,
But I grow older without regret,
My hopes are in what may come yet.

On the farm, I work each day,
This is where I wish to stay,
I watch the seeds each season sprout,
From the soil as the plants rise out.

I study Nature and I learn,
To know the earth and feel her turn,
I love her dearly and all the seasons,
For I have learned her secret reasons.

All that will live is in the bosom of Earth,
She is the loving mother of all birth,
But all that lives must pass away,
And go back again to her someday.

My life too will pass from Earth,
But do not grieve, I say, there will be other birth,
When my body is old and all spent,
And my soul to Heaven has went.

Please compost and spread me on this plain,
So my body Mother Earth can claim,
That is where I wish to be,
Then Nature can nourish new life with me.

So do not grieve and weep for me,
I did not leave, I only sleep,
I am with the soil here below,
Where I can nourish life of beauty and glow.

Here I can help the falling rain,
Grow golden fields of ripening grain,
From here I can join the winds that blow,
And meet the softly falling snow.

Here I can help the sun’s warming light,
Grow food for birds of gliding flight,
I can be in the beautiful flowers of spring,
And in every other lovely thing.

So do not weep and cry for me,
I am here, I do not die.

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Please note the audio recording may not exactly match the text version as 'The Old Farmer's Prayer' can be tailored/personalised

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Personalised Poem

Would you like to customise this poem? You have the option to personalise it by accessing the provided link, which will direct you to Google Docs. From there, you can download the poem ‘Memories’ to your personal Google Docs account or Microsoft Word where you will be able to edit the poem however you want.

Personalised Poem

About the poem

This poem is about a person who has spent their life working on a farm and learning from nature. The speaker reflects on the passage of time and growing older, but does not regret their life's choices. They feel a deep connection with the earth and all its seasons, and believe that everything that lives comes from the loving mother Earth, and will return to her eventually.

The speaker expresses a wish to be composted and spread on the plain where they work, so that their body can nourish new life and help the falling rain grow golden fields of ripening grain. The speaker believes that they will not truly die but will become a part of the earth and continue to nourish new life in various forms. The poem emphasizes the idea of cycles of life and death, and the beauty of nature's eternal renewal.

The poem is a celebration of the circle of life, and the speaker's deep love and respect for nature. It conveys a message of acceptance of death and a belief in the continuation of life beyond it.

The Structure of Poem

The Old Farmer's Prayer: This poem is structured with stanzas that each have four lines. The rhyme scheme is ABCB, with the second and fourth lines of each stanza rhyming. The poem contains six stanzas.

Best Quote from The Old Farmer's Prayer Poem

This is a quote from the poem The Old Farmer's Prayer by Steve Watkins

"All that will live is in the bosom of Earth She is the loving mother of all birth But all that lives must pass away And go back again to her someday."

This quote highlights the cyclical nature of life and death, and the interconnectedness of all living things with the Earth. It speaks to the idea of returning to the Earth after death and being a part of the ongoing cycle of growth and renewal. It reminds us of the importance of our connection to the natural world and our responsibility to care for it.