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).