POETRY SPOT

Readers will know that I prefer bush ballads, narrative poems and limericks over Keats, Longfellow and Shelley. That is not to say that I also prefer dogs playing poker over the Mona Lisa, but there is something to be said in favour of plain, simple poems, often with messages.  When it comes to poetry, give me fish and chips or a pie instead of escargot or caviar.

Douglas Malloch (1877 – 1938) was an American poet and short-story writer known as a "Lumberman's poet". Malloch was born in Muskegon, Michigan which was known as a centre of the lumbering industry. He grew up amidst the forest, logging camps, sawmills and lumber yards became known for his simple poems which often depict different ways life can be lived and how the most fulfilling lives come to be.

Ain't It Fine Today

    -  Douglas Malloch

Sure, this world is full of trouble —

I ain't said it ain't.

Lord, I've had enough and double

Reason for complaint;

Rain and storm have come to fret me,

Skies are often gray;

Thorns and brambles have beset me

On the road — but say,

Ain't it fine today?

What's the use of always weepin',

Making trouble last?

What's the use of always keepin'

Thinkin' of the past?

Each must have his tribulation —

Water with his wine;

Life, it ain't no celebration,

Trouble? — I've had mine —

But today is fine!

It's today that I am livin',

Not a month ago.

Havin'; losin'; takin'; givin';

As time wills it so.

Yesterday a cloud of sorrow

Fell across the way;

It may rain again tomorrow,

It may rain — but say,

Ain't it fine today?