It's not nature
To lamb in dry weather,
Cold and dry
When that east wind was on.
And then there come a wet night.
You looked at them at midnight
If nothing going on
You could go to bed.
But you'd to be up again
At three O'clock
If it rained or snowed
There was a multitude of lambs
A hell-of-a-carry-on there was for lambs!
John, John Story,
You have loved the land
And shepherded your flock.
The land you loved
Is better for you and your care.
Is was in me,
Bred in me.
Wildlife and motherliness;
These things were in you.
It was in you,
You did it,
And you thought nothing about it.
Something in me;
A way of life:
Wildlife and motherliness.
John Story,
Shepherd-boy I love,
Tender of sheep
You loved so dear
Helm winds in March
Still cloud that eastern Fell:
Now old
I'll fold you in my arms.
By Robin Walker
May 2005