I’m strangely feeling rough tonight
From toiling in the bright sunlight
Digging trenches ain’t much fun
When you’ve just turned seventy-one
Fetching barrow-loads of gravel
Has made my body just un-ravel
The constant use of concrete-mixer
Means I need a back-bone fixer
Throwing sand, cement and water
Has made me feel six inches shorter
I’m sure my legs have worn away
From all the work I’ve done today
And as we mixed the final ”pour”
I felt that I could take no more
So I rejoiced at my last trip
But then was asked to fill the skip
With half a ton of paving stone
Which made me ache in every bone
I know I promised son and daughter
I would move Hell and high water
Never thought that I would hear
They want it finished by next year !