Friday, January 8, 2016

I Wish I'd Written This

Strawberries and Cream
By Res Burman

I’m eating Strawberries and cream

With my long handled spoon

The one the doggies loved to lick.

I know I shouldn’t but I don’t care!












My beloved sister brought them

I think they were meant for

A pretty little girl who was visiting.

But she’d already eaten a punnet of strawberries

And half a plateful of biscuits!

Sweet child, she bought me a lovely bunch of flowers

And then decided they were so nice,

She should hold on to them!

See, she’s already clever too!

Never mind, my beloved sister

Brought me flowers from her garden

Which puts my little backyard to shame.

I can smell the roses now from across the room,












And mauvey spikey things

That she did tell me the name of

But you know me, head like a colander,

And some pretty white flowers 

That look like Christmas tree decorations.

And the strawberries and cream!

You can blame my next coronary on her!

But I won’t! I love her too much!

And always have! Sweet Annabella!

And she didn’t hold me down 

And force them on me.

She hasn’t been able to do that

Since I was ten years old!

Lovely to see my dear friend Eve

And Little-legs, full of smiles and strawberries

And my Dear Sister and Brother in Law.

Yesterday was a good day, a very good day!

Copyright © Res JFB 16th July 2015



I thought this would be a good one to use while many of us are still fondly remembering Christmas gifts, feasts, festivities and family gatherings.

Res is a poet I encountered online some years ago. We are in several facebook poetry groups together. 

He writes in a variety of styles and forms, on a variety of subjects.  He says of himself: 


'Old Soldier, Traveller, Herdsman, Cow-lifter, Builder, Forester, Carpenter, Cabinetmaker, Woodturner, War Pensioner, Father, Taoist, Photographer, Poet, Lover.

I have always had an eye and an ear for poetry but it was as a young soldier embarking on the Borneo Campaign that I discovered a Definitive Edition of Rudyard Kipling’s Verse (on India Paper). The perfect companion for “the ‘arf-made recruit (who) goes out to the East!”  From then on Kipling and I were inseparable!

I dabbled occasionally with writing but it was only after retiring from a very active life and getting my first computer that I sat down and started to seriously apply myself to writing, mostly poetry.

My Beloved Sister, Ann Gregan,  published a book of my writing and photography as a surprise for my 70th birthday and we are at present collaborating on compiling another.'

Res also has a blog,
 Res's Writing and Poetry. (Perhaps we can persuade him to link it to the Poets United community and participate in some of our activities!) There we find a link to his public profile at Google+, which lists him as a photographer too. He lives in beautiful Penzance, West Cornwall, UK, which is well worth photographing!


Poems and photos used in ‘I Wish I’d Written This’ remain the property of the copyright holders (usually their authors).

18 comments:

  1. That's a great piece, a delight to read. Thanks for sharing and warm greetings!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Blogoratti. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
      Best Regards

      Delete
  2. Joyful exuberance--such fun to read and apply to my life.

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  3. Oh, Res, DO come to Poets United! We need you! I'd love to interview you and hear especially about cow-lifting, LOL. You and I have matching bookshelves. I adore this poem, full of strawberries and cream and smiles. Lovely.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Sherry Blue Sky. I'd be delighted to join Poets United. I shall read up on how to do that! I'm glad about the bookshelves. Up to now I've made all my own book shelves, but I'm running out of walls! LoL
      Best Regards

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  4. This is really a wonderful poem! It is filled with such joy really, and it made me smile.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Mary. Its a privilege to share some joy with others through the medium of poetry.

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  5. Rosemary, thanks for sharing Res's poem with us. It is such a delightful read. reminds me a bit of William Carlos Williams. :)
    i see that he participated in the Borneo Campaign. wondered if it was during the Konfrontasi.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Dsnake1. Yes, you are right! I was in Borneo during the Konfrontasi. I was there from 1963 to 1966. No one is lucky to be sent to war but if you must go, one is very fortunate that one can come to love the country and the people one is sent to defend. Sarawak and Sabah left an indelible mark upon me.
      Best Regards

      Delete
  6. Love ya Res. Never read this one. It did not disappoint. So glad you shared it.
    Thanks Rosemary

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    Replies
    1. Hiya Ron. Great to see an old friend here. Glad you liked it.
      Love ya!

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  7. I always enjoy Res' poetry and now learning about his collaboration with his sister his writing reads even more sweetly. I must admit that this particular poem moved me in a very special place. It was reading "Little Women" as a little girl that had me suddenly salivating over a description of strawberries and cream (a dish which I had previously disliked enormously). It was the reading that changed my taste forever and so here I find once again a delicious description lovingly writ .... Thank you for this interview Rosemary and thank you to Res for this fascinating background from Borneo to a dish of strawberries and cream with sister.

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    Replies
    1. Another old friend. Hello Pearl. Lovely to see you here. Thank you for your kind words. Always appreciated.
      Best Regards

      Delete
  8. Delighted you all enjoyed this as I did. Res knows this has appeared, but is without a computer at present. I'll remind him to look at your kind comments when he can.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for including me in your "I wish I'd written this" series, Rosemary. I feel I've "arrived"!
      'Little Legs' and her Mother will be delighted!
      So sorry I was 'Absent from Parade'. My computer needed a new hard drive which has at last been installed.
      Once again, thank you for the honour you have done me.
      Much Love
      Res

      Delete

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