Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, GREAT-GRANDFATHER GREEN, by DOUGLAS MALLOCH


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

GREAT-GRANDFATHER GREEN, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Great-grandfather green never heard, never seen
Last Line: But think how much more fun he could have had now!
Subject(s): Grandparents; Grandmothers; Grandfathers; Great Grandfathers; Great Grandmothers


Great-grandfather Green never heard, never seen,
An airship, an auto, a talkin'-machine.
He plowed with a plow and he hoed with a hoe,
And planted potatoes by walkin' a row.
For seedin', or thrashin', or breakin' the land,
Great-grandfather Green done it mostly by hand.

He got up at daylight -- saved daylight before
The farmers got mad and the workers got sore.
Eight hours was his workday -- from sun until moon --
Eight hours after breakfast, and eight after noon.
Yes, years before savin' of daylight we got,
Great-granddad already had saved quite a lot.

On Sunday there wasn't no golf he could play:
He just read the Bible and loafed it away.
He played with the children, and talked of the crops,
And heard the old organ with numerous stops.
Great-grandmother Green couldn't rag "Beulah Land,"
But Great-grandfather Green thought her playin' was grand.

Great-grandfather Green never had, never seen,
A tractor, a 'phone, or a mowin'-machine;
And yet he was happy -- old letters I find
That show him contented in body and mind.
Great-grandfather Green lived the regular way,
Though he hadn't the things that are common today.

Great-grandfather Green has been gone many years.
The world is a different world, it appears.
I'm glad -- for the world has got better, it has,
For people to live in, in spite of the jazz.
Great-grandfather Green had his fun, I allow --
But think how much more fun he could have had now!





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net