Australian Bush Poetry, Verse & Music

Barry's Chooks

An old yarn provided the inspiration for this piece of verse.

Barry was a genial chap
Though some said he was a bit slow
When he lost his job at the Board of Works
He had nowhere else to go

For twenty years he'd sweated and toiled
In service to the Board
And now some bloody restructure
Meant retrenchment was his reward

Considering options of what to do
In his usual manner calm
He decided to invest his retrenchment pay
Into his own poultry farm

He purchased land he thought suitable
And prepared it in a methodical way
For this investment was for the rest of his life
He was determined it would not fail

On his way to the poultry market
To purchase some five thousand birds
He called for a pot at the local pub
He felt he deserved a small reward

There in conversation with Barfly Bob
Well known around those parts
He discussed his plans for his poultry farm
The to the markets he did depart

Now some weeks later Barry was back at the pub
But his mood was somewhat quiet
As Barfly Bob shuffled up alongside
To enquire if he was all right

"Not really" confided Barry
As he wiped a tear from his eye
The poultry farms not going so well
The chooks, well they all just died

"Oh dear" said Bob in a consoling tone
"What caused it, do you know?
If you can find the problem and fix it
You can always give it another go"

"Well I've scratched me head for weeks" Barry said
"Even dreamed about it in my sleep
And the only answer I can come up with
Is I planted them too close or too bloody deep"

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