Old Dogs and Children and Watermelon Wine

For Pauline.

You played me your favourite song,

You said it spoke what's in your heart.

You held my hand and sang along,

And bade me listen to the part

About the simple things you loved

The only things worth your time

Old dogs, and children

And watermelon wine.

I remembered how you'd loved me

Ever since I was a child

How our games were ever carefree

And your temper ever mild. 

And the simple things you loved

The only things worth our time.

Old dogs, and children,

And watermelon wine.

As we sang I saw your tears,

And the grieving in your heart

As we spoke of loss and fears

You bade me listen to the part

About the simple things you loved

The only things worth your time

Old dogs, and children

And watermelon wine.

I have loved you all my life,

But I never really knew you

I had no idea of all the strife,

That you have lived through.

The simple things kept in your heart,

Now they'll always be in mine.

Old dogs, and children,

And watermelon wine.

Reviews

[Beccy]

One of your reviewers mentioned this seemed to falter a little in musicality.

I disagree, it has a flow and rhythm that I think makes these lines as much song lyrics as a poem.

The repetition at the end of each verse works perfectly and 'old dogs, and children and watermelon wine,' go quite beautifully together.

Much enjoyed this.

Beccy.

[Pete]

A very elegant poem. It expresses very sweet feelings just like old dogs & watermelon wine. Flows very nicely & conveys a story of sharing between 2 people.

[Cody Jeremy Thompson]

Well damn that was rather touching and well worded poem. I won't add much because I assume people already commented all the things important about it just to say good job I hope you'll keep it up.

[Scheherazade]

Wow, this was lovely. I can't believe it took me so long to get round to reading it! I am truly sorry about that. I think it's a terrifically relatable piece that couldn't fail to touch everyone in some way because I think we all hide parts of ourselves even from people we love and because of that it's easy to wonder whether we can ever truly know a person. This poem resonates with that idea, I think. It certainly did for me. I look forward to reading more from you.

[jesserose99]

this truly spoke to me...the first stanza was amazing...because I can just picture someone special there sharing what meant so much to them. The whole thing actually really, the repetition was perfect for the piece. truly lovely.

[JaneFoxscale]

It's really an elegant read. Well done!

[...]

This reads like a song to me...very melodic and lovely :)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

beautiful poem about regrets, and sometimes feeling that we know everything about another person...and yet, there are secrets ...and those might not be shared until many years later...

many years.

we all have sadness within us...but, some of us hide it better than others.

[Cryingkate]

I love this creation of yours.
I love the story behind it.
This is pure Magical Poetry.
Well Done!
Excellent !

[A hare off]

Extremely creative with a very song-like feeling. The title alone is melodic.

[Southern_Writes]

It reads as a young girl talking to a father, who soon will pass away. As if they never had a great relationship, him quiet and keeping all the hardships inside, until his time is approaching and him sharing a hidden part of himself. I enjoyed this piece, it is beautiful and I am unsure of its back ground, but this is the story I hear.