THE FARMER.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 168, 25 April 1916, Page 1

THE FARMER.

i By Berton Braley.) When all the song* of labour have * been sung— Full of the clang of steel, the throb of steam, The clatter of the hammers where is tlung The tine-spun bridge across the roaring stream ; When all the chants of labour Lave been said. Deep-throated chants from mighty bosoms hurled— Mine is the chant of chants, the Song of Bread I am 'the Master, for I feed the World : The toilers of the factories and mine?, The workers of the rivers and the V seas, The heavy-muscled hewers of the pines, The idlers, 'mid their unearned luxuries At last must look to me—aye, one and all! Without me, armies fail and ilags are furled, Without me, Kingdoms die and Empires fall— I am the Master, for I feed the World *.

Beneath the blazing sun 1 do my toil With straining back and overburdened thews, Sowing the seed and reaping from the soil The corn and wheat and rice that men must use. Patient and strong I bend me to my work, Life eddies round me like a dustcloud whirled ; For this I know, despite the sweat and irk—- [ am the Master, for I feed the World :