(All poems at this website are the copyrighted property of Tom Allen.
Permission to print for individual use is granted.)

When think'n back on a time that was,
Of warm summer days when June Bugs buzz
As a farm-kid... with chores I can't drop,
Like the milk'n of cows and hogs to slop
There's things I remember and greet with a smile,
They carry me back... walk'n barefoot for a while
There's that smell that lingered from old corn silage,
And the string'n of barb-wire... measured in mileage
Hand-milk'n cows with a horsefly on my shirt,
And amuse'n the cat with the last few squirts
There was grind'n cow feed... mix'n corn and citrus-pulp,
And drink'n cold, well-water... try'n not to gulp
Eat'n cornbread in milk or sippin' sweet lemonade,
Chop'n weeds from the garden... shell'n peas in the shade
Side-step'n nettles as we rounded up the cows,
Avoid'n old roosters and the new mother sows
Sling-cut'n bitter weeds down by the "crick",
Nurse'n-back ol' Bossy each time she got sick
Train'n baby calves how to drink from a pail,
Laugh'n at the heifers... all run'n "high-tail"
I still remember crank'n that old corn sheller,
And the bushels of taters we carried to the cellar
I liked pour'n warm milk in a big shallow pan,
And see'n a dozen cats in a close-circle stand
Chill'n the milk in our cooler 'fore it's sold,
And along with the cans... float a watermelon cold
Yes, these are the things that always come back,
Whenever I suffer ... a summer "milk-attack".
