The Last Of The Great Shlaunmen

The last of the great shlaunmen in eternal rest lay
A Seasonal worker who worked hard for his pay
He worked in the brown bogs from here far away
Shlauning dark peat in April and May

He was one who did not have an easy life
He worked in hard jobs to support his children and wife
His wife too deceased their sons and daughters showing time's decay
Among the ageing grandparents of today

In Summer for farmers he worked making silage and hay
In life nothing easy ever did come his way
But in his prime years he became widely known
As a champion peat cutter in a class of his own

Until eventually time too did become his foe
He passed on from life many Seasons ago
Their prime years go quickly and people grow old
Though today of his greatness as a shlaunman stories are told

One who laboured hard for his every take home pay
A lorry of peat he often cut in a day
But from the cares of life for us all there is a final release
And the last of the great shlaunmen he now is at peace.