by Tom Otterman
“And the wind is fit to chill us
And slaps us in the face
But we can stand the challenge
With good and silent grace.
We can bear the burden
Of things we do not want
For we are making sugar
Way up in old Vermont.”
There was a time not so long ago
When old Vermont was all that you would see.
And wherever in Vermont you’d go
Way up in old Vermont you’d be
The changing of guard, began some years ago
It’s way too late, to say it isn’t so
The new Vermont, or what we’ve come to be
Began with the motto, the beckoning country
The stealing of our culture, by those who profess the woke
Won’t stop until, we all are driven broke
Freedoms and traditions, that were rooted in the past
Just don’t seem to matter, and were not meant to last
The new Vermont now in control, call themselves Vermont strong
They are guided by some principles, that just plain seem wrong
They consider those of native tongue, to be simply dumb
But really it is due, to where we come from
They have come to rule this perfect little state
And they alone will determine, the nature of our fate
Which brings me back to that poem of 1924
That has come to be important, to me even more
“And the wind is fit to chill us
And slaps us in the face
But we can stand the challenge
With good and silent grace.
We can bear the burden
Of things we do not want
For we are ”living here
“ Way up in old Vermont.”
Adapted from a poem by Eva Edgerton Ames circa 1924, from “Vermont Verse * An Anthology
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Categories: Opinion, Verse and Poesy
I like it, Tom. Your Dad would be proud.
The poem sadly points out where we are;
The last verse of the “Song of the Vermonters” tells us where we should proudly be:
“Come York or come Hampshire, come traitors or knaves,
If ye rule o’er our land ye shall rule o’er our graves;
Our vow is recorded–our banner unfurled,
In the name of Vermont we defy all the world!”
Yes, being a seventy-two-year-old Vermonter, those days are gone, long gone and I don’t see it ever coming back, all we have now is a ” Cancer ” within Vermont and its so-called super-majority in the state house !!
The Vermont I grew up in has died, due to progressive politics not caring about the state or its citizens’ well-being, they only care about an agenda.
Wake up people, you voted for these inept fools, and it continues today, you’re the blame……………………………………………..
absolutely true
Yet especially in the rural areas of the state, so many long-term and/or “native” Vermonters never bother to even vote at all. They complain an awful lot, but never manage to even get off their duffs to place pen to paper. They follow the trend of many other Americans in that regard.
Even on VDC, I’m guessing that as much as the commenters detest what is going on, many don’t put in the time to volunteer on school boards or town commissions, attend public town meetings & speak out even under “new business”, write to their elected officers, or submit Letters to the Editor (and make sure they are published) to the lamestream press.
While VDC is a great outlet & is attracting listeners/readers at a rapid rate, there is still a desperate need for conservative voices across this state on many platforms in order to create awareness of what these radicals are endeavoring to do.
Without a learned constituency, you have nothing more than completely uninformed citizens believing that they are fulfilling their civic duty voting for candidates through “name recognition” and party-line voting. Exactly what these demagogues want.
Very nice ! Thanks Otto !
I guess us long-time Vermonters are feeling kind of offended by all the corruption in our government. It’s not worth the fight anymore. I’ve worked 3 jobs most of my life, and i used to say, “I work 3 jobs so other people don’t have to work any”. I can’t sit on my butt and just get paid by the government like many, who are not affected by all these outrageous taxes. But being 65 this year, I’m not going to work 3 jobs anymore, I’m moving, I hope they enjoy my castle on the hill, I sure did until i got TAXED TO DEATH.