THE FARM AUCTION
(Enoch Kent)

Chorus:
Auctioneer comes here today
Privacy upon display
Highest bidder takes away
But they can't take it all

Rusting tractor on the hill, fence-post with a printed bill
That says the sale goes on until everything is gone

Bone and silver napkin rings, elastic bands round spoons and things
Tiny fingers touched the strings of that fiddle in the case
The coffee pot they never used, the silver frames are slightly bruised
Round portraits that amused in parlour and in hall

Firelight and a favourite song, laughter that rings among
The memories that still belong within these empty rooms
Remember when the lights were low, the log fire and the mistletoe
Morning sunlight on the snow, how much for a broken sleigh

A jar of nails, a box of tacks, six dining chairs with wicker backs
In the garden piled in stacks, being spotted by the rain
Auctioneer comes here today, strangers' cars that line the way
Children watch the odd display while mothers watch the lots
That are numbered with the coloured tags, books in boxes, clothes in bags
Bought for learning, bought for rags, everything must go

^^