This old farmstead damp after a spring shower. Hand colored. by Don Anderson

What Condition We’re In

Some call it a North Dakota condition
Where some rivers run north and poor crops are tradition.
Its’ farmers are Commies and its’ banking’s State-owned
Please pass the hot dish, your future’s postponed!

Once filled with small farms, quarter section in size
Now tilled with tractors and global positioning is prized.
Gone are the Holsteins, a milk house and barn cats for cream
So are the children who loved playing, farming and had big dreams.

Small towns are dried up, the schools gone away
Consolidation brings busing, two hours each day.
Gone are the churches, cafes and the small stores
Wheat fields, barley, and the dog’s locked indoors.

Time keeps on moving, no room for the past
Weather is changing, drought is forecast.
Empty the farmhouse, move into town
Go shopping at Walmart, and let’s just simmer down!

                                      -CJ Holm