Poem: The Rafter's Ride

The hardy lumber men of yesteryear

who earned their pay with sweat and brawn

ventured into God's green forests

to begin their toil at the break of dawn

They bid adieu to friends and family

when the leaves dropped slowly to the ground

and headed to the logging camps

for a winter's work they were bound

They cut and hacked at nature's beauty

as the tall, tall pines came tumbling down

and ate their beans and bread in the shanty camps

no time to sit and fret or frown

Then came the glorious spring of man's awakening

when the logs were ready for the drive

stacked and squared for the rafter's ride

down the mighty river they dip and dive

The minstrels celebrate their life in song

and writers tell of their tall tales

on the timber rafts on the swollen river

for the big spring drive they set their sails

Our ancestral days are re-created

of brave men against the raging river

the drive is on, the drive is on

the Valley timber they must deliver.

Gary Howard
Pembroke ON