Once was a farmer so bold and proud <br />Who in the small town, stood out in the crowd. <br />He grew cotton and other crops most expertly <br />And his fame throughout, grew exponential. <br /> <br />Others, from as far away as Texas, came and stood with him <br />As he expressed need to control interest rates which were certainly grim. <br />The public which about food prices complained <br />And on the poor farmer, heaped much of the blame. <br />A saying was heard far and wide; not to be cruel, <br />'Don't complain, if your mouth is full.' <br />They took their tractors to the Mall in Washington <br />To plead for relief from the Banker's Conundrum. <br /> <br />In Washington, representing the district <br />Was one known as a 'farmer', though he knew not how to pick. <br />Representative Ed Jones was above it all <br />As he view the disruption on the Nation's Mall <br />And to his surprised one Autumn day <br />His very own tenant farmer filed for bankruptcy. <br /> <br />Such was the fate of many others like him <br />Who were abandoned. It was such a sin. <br />For you see Jimmy was in the White House then <br />Yet there were those who thought him a friend. <br />The interest on loans went to twelve, then sixteen <br />And the poor farmer, forced to borrow, was caught in between. <br /> <br />So the farmer about which we write <br />Was caught in just such a financial plight. <br />His family and friends knew not what to do, <br />For them, and others, solutions were few. <br />One day he left us all alone <br />The smell of nitrate, and then he was gone. <br /> <br /> <br />* The American Agricultural Movement was founded in 1977 to protest Government policy that set commodity prices below the cost of production.<br /><br />Sidi J. Mahtrow<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/don-t-complain-if-your-mouth-is-full/
