A farm upbringing has inspired the poetry of Meath man, Luke Hannon.

“My father, David Hannon, is a dairy farmer in Derrypatrick, so I grew up helping him milk on weekends, feeding calves, and the like,” he told Agriland.

However, Luke never saw himself continuing in his father’s footsteps.

“I never really enjoyed farming as I see it more of a vocation than a career. You either enjoy the lifestyle, or you don’t,” he said.

“My sister, Laura Hannon, is currently learning the ropes to become the farmer once my father retires, as she works on the farm and studies agriculture at Dundalk Institute of Technology.”

With that said, there is little denying that his upbringing didn’t shape his interests somewhat.

“I myself studied zoology as my degree and hdips in food science and data analytics, so I’ve definitely explored the realm of food and animals,” he said.

“I got into poetry as a way to channel some emotion into creativity and cope with mental health issues. In 2019 I was diagnosed with severe OCD [obsessive compulsive disorder] and it has been a challenge to learn to deal with it.

“I started writing before bed some nights, and eventually moved on from writing little parts of stories I’d probably never finish to writing whole poems.

“In January 2022 I entered one of these poems, ‘Altar Man’, into the Macra na Feirme creative writing competition and won the poetry section. Since then, I’ve been trying to get poetry published in Irish poetry journals and looking for new themes to explore in my poems.

“One such theme stems from my farming background, where I can write about things I’ve noticed, mainly the hardships of farming, as a farmer’s son with no interest in taking the reins.”

Luke said his family has been very supportive of his poetry. He hopes to publish a book of poetry in the future and to find a job he enjoys doing, and do it well.

A sample of Luke’s poetry

Farmer’s Wife

Feed the calves,
Throw the bales,
Even though no wind in sails,
Not much of a life,
To be the farmer’s wife.

Clean the sheets,
Dinner’s made,
Even after feelings fade,
Not much of a life,
To be the farmer’s wife.

Raise the children,
Show your best,
So they can’t handle any test,
Not much of a life,
To be the farmer’s wife.

But at the end,
Of the long day,
Look back on it all, and say,
It’s not so bad a life,
To be a farmer’s wife.

Farm upbringing

Dawn’s Light

Dawn’s light, awoken,
Dressed to work,
Dairy lights aglow.

Field to empty,
Cattle march,
To sounds of many lows.

Dripping sweat,
Down furrowed brows,
Talk conserved for now.

For after tea,
And biscuits eaten,
First to feed the cows.

Long day done,
Put to bed,
For early set alarm.

Dusk’s dark,
Tomorrow brings,
Another day to farm.

Too Far Gone

Angular bones, slow, stilted footsteps,
Stumbling (suffering) into the parlour,
Not much milk left to drain,
Keeping her no longer holds gain.

Local vet, no joy to take, called out,
“Well no point hanging about”,
Needle, syringe of poison filled.
A mercy, this old cow killed.

This next poem, Alter Man, was Luke’s submission to the Macra na Feirme creative writing competition in January 2022 – which he won.

Altar Man

Standing tall beside the altar,
Praying that I shall not falter,
Even as the box ascends,
Stalwart as my heart does rend.

You would have told me I can cry,
But as I watch my eyes are dry,
A quiet river flows within,
I won’t beget this silent sin.

This pain I feel will stay inside,
As though I am the one who died.

Copyright on the poetry belongs to Luke.