To Harvest the Wheat of America.......

Oak, ash and hickory, raw from the saw
Ten thousand board Feet, Delivered
Fourteen foot long some 16 inches Wide

I helped plane all that wood,
When I was Just a boy, load after load
In the Time, I was just growing a spine

By 7th Grade I had, From how I was grown
"Long Shoreman's Syndrome"
The work had curved my Spine

By ten years old I worked with
10 Blade Saw running 10,000 RPM
It Could Imbed a Stick in heavy Drywall

The slats had to be shaped and Packed
In bundles of 50 or 100 And loaded on a Trailer
Weighing 25 to 35 lbs a piece.....
They Added to My Backs Failure

These Slats went on Combines that
Harvested the Wheat of America
So when I was a child I carried
The Bread of America on my back