Monday, April 25, 2011

Two Friends



FRIENDS
(A Poem for Children)

Dinna cry, Shep! I love you too.
Both of you have jobs to do.
Fergus can carry me on his back
All along the heather track.
Fergus is big and he is wise;
He looks at me with his great big eyes.
Fergus's mane is very thick;
And when he gallops he's very quick.
I give him carrots and stroke his nose.
And where I'm going Fergus goes.
But he can't round-up the silly sheep,
Or catch a ball with a great big leap.
And he can't lie in front of the fire
And watch the winter flames burn higher.
And he can't lay his head on my knee
Or run and fetch a stick for me.
He can't curl up on my bed
When I have an aching head.
And Shep, you know that, in the end,
A dog, not a horse, is man's best friend.
Dinna cry, Shep! I love you too.
Both of you have jobs to do.
*
---------------------------------------------------------

The quote is from Robert Browning.
"Grow old along with me."


GROW OLD ALONG WITH ME

If you want to grow old along with me
You must retain your agility!
Your eyesight must remain quite clear
Likewise the hearing in each ear!
You mustn't clack ill-fitting dentures!
You must embrace all brand new ventures.
You musn't wear out-dated clothes
Or have any hairs sticking out of your nose!
You mustn't listen to Forties tunes
Or have little naps in the afternoons!
You mustn't snore, you mustn't wheeze!
In fact, NO nasty noises! Please!
You were once 'the best', so I'm informed,
The ladies swooned, the ladies swarmed!
Since then I think you've gone off the boil!
And all your hinges are needing oil!
I shudder at what is yet to be!
But I am facing reality!
Sweetheart! I'll certainly marry you!
*
You'll leave me everything?
That'll do!
*

11 comments:

Elaine said...

Fergus...love love love the name. And I do hear a hint of a Scottish accent in there too!

Reflections said...

I too believe I hear a hint of Scottish in there. You nailed it on both accounts. Nicely done.

signed...bkm said...

Yes, we all have jobs to do and to do our best is all that can be asked of us...a promise of good friends near our side for jobs well done....bkm

Deborah said...

The first line made me read it all in a Scottish accent, just wonderful, and I loved Grow Old along with Me!

La said...

Fabulous as always.

Teresa said...

Fantastic! Both poems, but I absolutely adore the innocence of childhood in the first one.

Unknown said...

The first poem would be wonderful as a children's book.

Annesphamily said...

This was so fine! I am impressed to read such fabulous words here! Thank you. Thanks for sharing and enjoy the week. Anne

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

Love it...

I do have a horse, by the way, who just doesn't understand why the dogs can come in the house and she can't!

Unknown said...

I love both of these poems! I'm very impressed with they way you work with words :)

Jenny said...

Wow, these were both fabulous!

I love that hint of brogue in the first poem, and the tongue in cheek irony in the second!

Absolutely fantastic writing!

You are really a fabulous writer.

Thank you for linking up to Alphabe-Thursday's letter "F" this week.

A+