Ians Poetry Page
Eternal Hope
The economy of God is not the way of the earth
Bottom line, dollars flat to stack, net worth
This misty vapour which is our life in this world
Rippling muscles of youth graduating to flesh wrinkled and knurled
What must we do to be saved, for eternities long march?
Is a question we can explain who belong to His Church
He who has bridged the gap to heavens gate
Is the answer to the dilemma of our earthy mate
How do we lead a man to make that decision?
His ego to move over for the Son of Man who has risen
To have first place in his life, answer the plight of the lost
Eternity with Jesus, hope consummated, the cosmos crossed
For the billions who hunger for a purpose in life
The word became flesh; The Christ came to ease strife
He says, “I have come that you might have life with a capital L”
He will empower you by grace and will save souls from hell
Australia Day written after a return home after a stint in Ukraine
Through the buloke trees on the mallee plains
The grey leaves murmur and the dry wind strains
Two hundred years for farmers to tame this land
flooding rain and drought, challenge at every hand
With up to five generations of character forming
The horseworks and grubbers, sent the gum tree crashing
to make cropland and pasture for the tractor and seeder
Wheat for bread, prime stock for the red meat exporter
The wool from Macarthur’s proverbial sheep’s back
that this country rode on, has got off the track
Now its oilseeds and mining and tourist delights
Sugar, rice ,pulse crops, export hay and the like
Five world class cities grace the coastal border strip
around the vast inland, Nullarbor and Kimberley , take the trip
Uluru ,The Alice, the vast sandy beaches, the barrier coral jewel
Australia ,driest continent on this finite, global pearl
“Go aussie Go”, and the old enemy England
Cricket has always been watched by the thousand
“Aussie rules” football and the “Melbourne Cup” thoroughbred
Sport, and the chance of a win, always the subject in a man’s shed
The Mediterranean immigrants, the “New Australian” cliche
Developed the hydro, irrigation and learnt to say “goodday”
East Asians brought computers in a later year ,”Smart country” folk
cosmopolitan now, able to smile at “The English as she is spoke”
The original, with the didgeridoo taught us to roam and be free
In a climate so mild he could sleep under the bark off a tree
Thanks to the God of creation for allowing us to live in this land
lets us take time to know Him and let Him lead our hand
The sparse buloke still murmurs in the shimmering heat
the light breeze brightens the campfire around the stockmen’s
feet
Australia day, Australia my country, in sprawling cities or desert
plain
Thank God, it is so good to come back home again
Tamoshanta to Akubra for family reunion at farm in 2001
From Argyles Scottish mists to mallee dusty plains
Where its hot as hell in summer and hardly ever rains
And the dust storms in clouds and the changes are all dry
One’s mind begins to wander back to the leaden Lake Fyne sky
And the green and verdant pasture and the hairy mountain cattle
The bagpipes echoing round the glen, `sounds that keeps us on the
mettle
And a shiver runs all over as I feel the icy wind and horizontal rain
That’s when I thank God for the freedom to move and stake a claim
This country might be dry mate, but here the family’s made a name
The menfolk of the Mallee have been raised with tougher frame
They can mix it in the city, commerce, university and sport
The boys from the bush can get a place wherever quality is sought
The women too can take their place on the farm or in the town
There were nurses and teachers, fell in love a and settled down
And raised the kids that are the future for any property to grow
Taught the ethic of their fathers, work and fallow, till and sow
Tamoshanter to Akubra, Tartan Kilt to Drizabone
Tall ship journey, hopes on fire, half the globe to make a home
From calico and hessian to a home that’s wide and cool
Water under pressure, lawns and shrubs, a veranda and a pool
Where the trees stay green all winter they do not drop their leaves
And the murmur of the Buloke in the summer evening breeze
Sugargum and black box, Eucalyptus, the smell of peppercorn
Give me an Aussie Autumn where the days are bright and warm.
I would not swap it for a townhouse in Glasgows roaring rush
Our family has thrived on this challenging, virgin block of bush
Our towns are good and solid, sport and schools, the educator
And the fellowship of churches teach us not to forget our Maker
Lord God created Australia as well as verdant Northern Spheres
Our forefathers tamed it albeit with blood and, sweat and tears
Now the challenge is preserve it , share the faith we’ve learnt
We are our brothers keeper and the future of its, yours
The motto from West Scotland is ‘reverisco’ ‘We grow again’
The tenacity of a highland man inspires us to play the game
Instils in us a new beginning with Christ our cornerstone
And ‘I serve God first’ is our motto wherever we may roam
Ian McEwen on the occasion of the Family reunion March 2001
70 Years Reflection
As the decades roll on Life is the people around us for sure
a cell phone button, a world away or in the street next door
Number one is the partner and wife and a lifetime of memories
We grow close as we share the days tasks and personallities
The digital communications makes commerce a decision each minute
Sorting and reading Filing and losing spending precious time finding
Email and facebook a webpage with overload information we love it
Coping and driving get the crop in ontime or early no time for relaxing
Life is family, the kids and their Kids O lord we are grandparents already
The girls particuarly a challenge a minute with prangs. I need it is it ready
On reflection keeping cars under them was a major achievement I,d say
home Friday night in a cloud of smoke and I got to have it Sunday
Life for a car is mainly two elements oil in the engine and the radiator coolant
Or maybe forgot to check fuel and who borrowed the jack theres no need to rant
Could you pick me up you will need a rope or a chain That’s life on a farm
FJ ute to fairlane when fuel was cheap and back to pulsars it goes on and on
The tractor became a replacement for horses and the horses ended up under the bonnet
The farms expanded exponenionatly under competition got to feed the world damit
Five acres an hour was a sense of achievement
now its 40 or more and you can rely on it.
Farming was physical, dig it and fence it . Lift it and lump it
Now its set it and calibrate and sit back and watch it
Tune the dvd and the ipod and don,t nod off at the end of it
Then Jump in the ute or the Bike you can,t walk a minute
Hydraulics and O rings a revolution in Farming
Gps , Lightbars, Submetre to Rtk steering
A raaf flying suit to climate controlling
And a screaming transmssion to a luxury cabin
Leave the place better than when you started on it
Always the challenge as we work it and fence it
And the Country we live in this great south Land
Is our home, we know it and God leads our Hand
140 YEARS REFLECTION at celebration at Granite Church
The Church of my youth is just over the Hill
As alive today for generations still
It was there for my Dad when he was a kid on the block
Let’s celebrate 140 years of the Church in the Paddock
The Granite Church intrigues many who see the road signs
But the Church is the people the solid rock of spiritual design
The Granite name lies back at the rocks on the lunette formation
Granite no, but a wooden built edifice, albeit of noble and solid foundation
Granite Flat is the name to the district as well and a cricket team of renown
Remembered for sportsmanship, hospitality, cream cakes and a scone
Sport and the chance of a win always the subject round a country table
The camaraderie of team sport, the give and take, builds a character reliable
The Church was just 2 when the big fire came through and they say the paint blistered
A log fence on the road was blazing and a parishioner a mile away perished
Through the tough times and good, droughts and hail and bumper years, and tears
God has blessed all the families who have entered the doors of this place
The generations saw a room at the back with a wood stove and a place for a broom
Then their kids a Sunday School and now a bigger sanctuary and cry room
To toilet facilities and digital sound, video and air conditioning
And even a sand pit for the kids, security and a place to relax in
Remember the youth club and the games, the tea meetings and concerts
The Sunday best clothes, suits, ties and the girls in their dresses and skirts
The auctions of coconut ice, cases of grapes and watermelons by the loads
The pressure lights and mantles to lighting plants, chalk, crayons, now videos
The congregational activities have always involved eating and food to share
The 60s saw coffee shops in Donald and Wycheproof to show that we care
Sunday school picnics to Business Mens Dinners to Café Church at the senior Cits
Twelve years of outreach to teens and families saw challengers and creative skits
A bloke spied a snake entering the culvert so all gathered round after church for the fun
It was a big brown in the days when any good snake was a dead one
Poke some wire up the pipe and eventually the angry snake darted out
Caught it by the tail and threw it, some hero with a shovel killed it and all gave a shout
From Methodist Preaching place and the Salvos to share a place of worship
To running it ourselves for two decades thanks to good lay preaching, fellowship,
Faithful trustees and now the membership felt the need to be part of the Baptist cause
Sees a group of Country Churches in North Central Victoria, a National resource
Standing in a remote corner in the Northern Wimmera it has always had a world view
Not forgetting local kids, camp ministries, Mothers of Pre Schoolers a chance to renew
We welcome missionary guests from remote Australia and a global scope
With work parties to WA, West Timor, Thailand, PNG and Eastern Europe
The church has always reverberated in songs and music
The old peddle organ now to piano and guitars however they choose it
Immortal, invisible God only wise in light inaccessible hid from our eyes .
34 in the old hymn book and Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go from old Alexanders
Each generation wants to pass on their destiny of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
But God has no grandchildren and each child needs to find their own light
The Word of God is a lamp to our path and the fellowship so beneficial
The Church over the Hill has done that for our families and for the future so crucial
The little Church draws folks from a radius of 60 kilometres
With mains power and water now even a coffee machine and young kids complete us
A programme with vision is a nurturing and supportive place in a paddock
The elders, deacons and Pastor are led by Gods Spirit of Love, no need to fake it
The cricket grounds gone and the post office and School
But that country Church just over the hill is still almost full
Ian McEwen at 140 year reunion
Australian Irrigation water management the big question
Australia , land of drought and flooding rain
Managing the resource for the environment and fiscal gain
river born on the mountain, gestating a sparkling trout stream
Maturing on the plain, the artery of an irrigation scheme
Water the gold in a dry countries treasury
To use and not abuse it is our problem you see
The quality on the mountain is pristine and clear
Salinity and turbidity and hardness is the negative we fear
The rivers and channels that distribute the flow to our farms
where the impurities from leakage and runoff and reuse alarms
evaporation and seepage are a waste we cannot afford
for domestic and stock a pipeline is preferred
but the conduit of knowledge is full of bends and leakages
feeding into a manifold of ideas that should minimise spillages
the science of change merges into the practicality of experience
to progress, grow and be viable, we demonstrate resilience
Security of supply is a given for irrigation production
no waterlogging, rising tables with salinity reduction
consultation and information available for all stakeholders
the farmer, the environment, take the load off their shoulders
the younger generation has to be involved for our future
this new blood initiative has became a national adventure
working together with strategic ideas for the industry
the vitality of youth for horticulture , dairy and forestry
The children too can take their place in water irrigation
They can appreciate the challenge of quality and reafforestation
To plant a garden and watch it grow with great contentment
And trees that are the catylist of a clean environment
Caring for the land and water resource using irrigation
After a seven year period of low precipitation
To care for the regenerated biomass and all the other uses
Using less water to grow more with the high tech producers
A need to accentuate the positives and put aside the negatives
Use the technology, the advanced genetics with all the trade derivatives
Showcase the produce to the world with road, rail and air
Get the product on the shelf tomorrow with quality and care.
Ian McEwen on the occasion of the 2003 Ancid Shepparton Conference
A Christmas Poem back in the sixties
Hark the herald angels sing
The wheat has overflowed the bin
An expensive noise behind the drum
The harvest hassles have begun
Christmas comes at this time each year
It is hard to find the time to cheer
The shepherds made time to find the child
The harvest moons bright the night is mild
Just another hour to fill the truck up
Will we make the silo before it is shut
Peace on earth good will to all men now
Saviour comes no need to shout and row
Time is so precious at harvest we know
The rain could come and spoil the show
the soil we work on is not to be mined
It is timeless like our Lord we find
The carols on the radio tell us the season
on this header so long is that the reason
The water is hot and the tea is cold
Pool or cash another load is sold
The excitement in receiving and giving
The tree with the coloured lights shining
The cammeraderie trigered so long ago
A king born in a stable the high made low
This event of 2000 years is now celebrated
The gift of a child, it is not complicated
God became man in a miraculous birth
His spirit is upon us a gift of great worth
The good and bad seasons come and go
Like Headers this world is imperfect we know
But because our Lord has become incarnate
The future is perfect have a nice Christmas mate
Charles at the Games a fun piece that tickled my fancy
Commonwealth Games Brisbane 2018
OOch by-gum Camilla dear, I luv ya girl
Been my 16th visit down under, a bit of a whirl
Sore the Woollies and Cows at a place called Gundaguy
Where the dog sits on the Lunch box under the wide blue sky
The old Commonwealth has got a bit out of control
But the Games got ‘em all together and they’re on a roll
With swimmin’ and badminton and us sitting in the chairs
Not sure how we’d go, in the tandem bike pairs
Aye it’s a tad dry down south in this wide brown Land
But its wet as London in Coolangatta and all Queensland
We’el give it a burl on the Gold Coast, come and give us yer hand
We’ll show these Aussies they need a King with a Queen in hand
Ye were a bonnie wee lassie but we’ve gone to seed now
I cannae believe our weddin’, all the muck and the row
Not sure if this place will have us, and Shortens a sook
A republic will ken we want the spondoolies and I am a crook
You’re ma wifey, Camilla and that’s a fact and all that
The games take our minds off a world that’s gone flat
Mummies been an example of leadership and a real diplomat
The Queen and her Duke are a destiny and we take off our hat
Ian McEwen Comonwealth Games 2018
Neils 60th my youngest brother
Give him a welder, oxy and hammer
A tractor or sprayer or a house that’s needed
He can do it all in a in a practical manner
He will draw it, plan it, he is never impeded
We won’t muck around let’s get in and do it
Battling drought and hard times soaks up resources
A baler a wrapper. Well damn it well make it
The cattle need hay and its horses for courses
The cattle are great and you don’t have to shear them
To shift them around we need a crate that’s reliable
Well shop around until we find one we can straiten
Its twisted and bent with a tug here and there, we make it viable
Lost some gears in the Johny, got to split it and fix it
Another loader is needed something big and dependable
Lift a tonne or two in one, something that will fit
If I make it myself it will work and be sensible
Starting farming from scratch is a pretty tall order
Focused and determined George is a wonder
And the family is proud of our little brother
Also Jill and the family, Jason Sam and Melinda
The responses we make depends on our faith and our maker
The challenges of life has sorted all that
Neil is here for a purpose and He knows where he’s at
Tribulation produces perserverance, and perserverance, character,
Ian McEwen 30aug 08
Ode to Buloke Shire on Council amalgamations
There’s a wind of change on the northern plains
A zephyr of question – what sweeping gains?
Through the Buloke trees and across the Lake
That’s a name for the Northern Shire to take
There’s a north wind now in the heat of drought
The water is low and the cash running out
We remember a land of flooding rains
We remember the 60’s, the wool and the grains.
Our young are off to the urban opportunity
The challenge of business and the university
Doing well in the city with country work ethic
No job in the home town is pretty pathetic
A breeze on the nose from the Canberra dugout
And Spring Street blows a wind with a clout-
Hytech and restructure for farm and for shire
or change and decay we didn’t require
Elected to govern and even things out
The pollies listen when cities shout –
That’s where the votes are that gave them a seat
They’re forgotten who grows their bread and the meat.
Yet we will be there in the wide Buloke Shire
In the two thousands – we’ll never retire!
Diversity, value add the crops that we grow
Invite hordes of tourists to see the show
Like the buloke tree on the northern plain
We’ll be here, tough, resilient – still waiting for rain!
Ian McEwen
February, 1995
SHE’LL BE RIGHT MATE
on tough farming times
She’ll be right mate. Turn out the lights and shut the gate
Battling with terms of trade the weather and rates
And whims of bureaucrats has laid us flat on our backs
Our heritage lost~ it has stopped us in our,tracks
She’ll be right mate do something before its ‘too late
The mice are using the straw that has broken our back
They have built nests in the cracks left after the dry
They play games in the ceiling and make the wife cry
The Bible tells us Moses knew all about plagues
The frogs and the locusts got Pharaoh in a rage
As in the Days of Noah We scheme and we play
The Gurus in Egypt the sphinx and pyramids give way
The Lord God has promised to come back alright
With trumpets and glory the World will know it some night
He’ 11 come as he promised the same way he left
He’ll never forsake us or leave us bereft
She’ll be right mate we still have a feed and a coat
The people of Bosnia have neither, take note
Count your blessings and learn to appreciate life
The sun and the space clean air and no strife
She’ll be right mate for those who trust in the Lord
The word is to encourage you will never be bored
A positive bringer of hope is all that,s required
For all those around us who are sick and tired
She,ll be right mate we will take time for a break
from the pressure of deadlines it,ll be nice by a lake
From the smoke and the sticks we come to Halls Gap
Away from the office, all work and no plays a trap
Blessed is the Nation who,s God is the Lord
We must pray for this one that’s abandoned His word
0 Jerusalem ,Jerusalem over- which Jesus wept sore
We must cry for our Nation that is very much poor
Our wives and our kids ~the bloke down the road
Cultivate the contacts and help ease their load
Life is the people around us our mission for sure
Is to love them as we love ourselves, this is His law
To love ourselves and not be proud is to Know Him
The perfect one who gave his all and took our sin
Who died in a shameful mess on a roman torture cross
We forfeit the old self and greed that is no loss
Shell be right mate is a slack Nations cliche
It will only be right when we give God His way
Quiet in the bush at this beautiful place
The still small voice can make your heart race
Ukraine’s rolling black soil plains
year 2000 after first visit to this beautiful farming land been there 10 times now
Unfold a vista from the bus and train
Autumn struggles for bronzey hew
As green verdant pastures dominate the view
Ancient machinery and rusty iron abound
Crumbling concrete and decay all around
Family garden is lush and prolific
Plenty of hungry mouths to feed from it
Lada, Lada everywhere, dinted taxis and trolley bus too
Tramcars, trucks of all sorts and the occasional limo
An odd side car bike and a few pushbikes about
And unfortunate for us most prefer to wear leather out
Cities like Kiev, Odessa, Vinitsa and Sumy
Vibrant and busy, tree lined streets for a greenie
Cloned apartment blocks, white and stark
Collective sameness makes a sad heart
Cold water or none at all today
Is stoically accepted the Ukrainian way
Power cuts often, one never knows
And the sewerage too is on the nose
Wary of eye in a crowd, it is difficult to chat to the strangers
But in the homes, farms and business’s, the warmth is contagious
The amount of food and drink is embarrassing to see
Especially in the light of their frugality of opportunity
‘Dobraye utra’ is good morning to us
‘Spasiba’ is thankyou, no need to fuss
A translator a must for communication
Not used to the lingo of our Aussie nation
They do not have much, but are happy to share
Come in and eat, it is prepared with care
Conviviality and joy, and a song on cue
We will talk and dissect each others view
Teetering on the brink, sitting on knife edge or just a basket case
A time to love, and a time to hate, a time of war, and a time of peace.
This beautiful country had it all, Cossack, Hitler and Stalin and then some
So many have said ‘too hard’ and packed up and gone home
A history of genocide, torture and the penitentiary
This country must move smoothly into the new century
A new spirit is emerging, a search for meaning and faith
The free world must demonstrate what is secure and safe
The prayers of the west, a jubilee focus in time are answered
Marx and Lenin move over, loyalty to Jesus transfered
New churches everywhere, the young seeking the truth
Need mentoring and partnership and focus on youth
Ian McEwen after extensive trip in September 2000
Who does the farming
modern farm management today
Who does the work on the farm we run
Do we do it ourselves and no time for fun
How to tap the experts from all round the world
Global farming is similar they only need to be called
The shearing and fencing the horehound and burrs
We need them today for the job that occurs
Is there a way to facilitate this help we need
are there other ways to work so that we will be freed
Sharing of values, we do what we like doing
The mission and vision ,the goals we are seeing
Need to plan whats to do ,realise the staff are people
We need to appreciate skills and the business won,t topple
All the taxes ,workcare and the superannuation
Need to know all the rules that are regulation
The skills that are needed for particular tasking
Can they all do the job, ,that is the question we,re asking
Ask the questions that require a considered answer
Be aware of the agenda and the referees candor
Write it all down and file it for reference
Our memory is finite, open to senescence
Life is the people around us for sure
Our business will grow and we won,t be poor
The tongue is our instument of communication
Be precise and require a response explanation
Ian (Mickologo) McEwen
My Wife
She’s supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious!
If you say it loud enough, you’ll always sound precocious,
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
There’s no need for dismay
Just summon up this word
And then you’ve got a lot to say
But better use it carefully
Or it may change your life
One night I said it to me girl
And now me girl’s my wife!
I met this teacher from Berriwillock
With the seductive toning voice
With a world view that came as quite a shock
We better work on this one she maybe is a choice
She wanted a ride to a party in the city
The hours there and back were serendipity
But alas I was not invited this time, fancy that
Next weekend I made a date to show her Granite Flat
It took a while but we got there in the end
Persuading Father to move to town took a while back then
And I wore a FB ute out driving to and from the Mallee
Met her mum and dad and welcomed their hospitality
Eventually got the knot tied in Ballan Presbyterian
After all that fuss and bother we went to Lord Howe Island
On a flying boat from Sydney it took three Hours flying
And ended up with single beds was not much use crying
We had a Girl and that was great but a son was ordered next
It was quite a shock to be informed I had another girl
The Matron said no’ that’s wrong she had to change the text
You have a son and to that I had no say, and we are all a whirl
Yes you have a son, Davo’s got the girl and for you another’s
on its way was before the Ultra sound and the x-ray was not
clear, be sure of it today
The corridor was hectic, there was a bit of panic and not a lot of
flair
Graeme looked incredulous and I just said Hell and got myself
a chair—it was a prayer
Two sons, another Girl, two of each, the perfect family potential
A work in progress and ten Grandchildren to achieve their
destiny still
Alison the whiz got them all through their education
Went back to study at Deakin and received her own graduation
The decade at Murdoch gave her a calling for the
underprivileged
The op shop on the corner and the dedicated staff need to be
acknowledged
In town or overseas in PNG or West Timor and the Black Sea
Region
The clothes and stuff, the bikes, the men’s shed no matter the
season
Always on the go and the calendar is full, she is a dynamo
A diamond has been suggested a Jewell that sparkles on the
go
The opshop is a credit to all and the place to be in town
The girls who help, and the guys who tie and load, with out a
frown
Landcare, weeds and vermin, Tuesday she will check a bait
line
Leave the remnant thriving and her motto is fine
spray some horehound if she can get a vehicle and the
spraycart is going
Check her determination and drive; see it in the shrubs and
trees growing
When she gets those blue bowls perfected and she gives to
them a shine
Watch out the pros, she really is ambitious, it only takes some
time
Never early, where’s Alison is the cry but she’s always at the
start
Relaxing on the green she loves the challenge and the leader
gets a mark
A game we can enjoy together sets this game apart
Not like golf it seems that frustrates from the start
A tiny white ball that hooks and slices and ends up in the water
Or lost in the bush at least you can’t lose a bowl and the walk
is shorter
Her living faith is something else she devours the scripture
daily
Learns to love and encourage all with what the Master teaches
She’s solid as a rock in all the tremors and quakes life dishes
up
It’s been a great ride and unpredictable, not all cream and
peaches
She’s supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Sure she’s a super girl, Fragile too and precious
Wife of 47 years, Mother Gran and friend in all distress
Adviser, teacher and mentor, my lover and hostess
Ian McEwen on occasion of Alison’s 70th
McEwen Farming and Family Stuff 