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.
*
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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!
*
