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It Was Long Ago

I'll tell you, shall I, something I remember?
Something that still means a great deal to me.
It was long ago.

A dusty road in summer I remember,
A mountain, and an old house, and a tree
That stood, you know,

Behind the house. An old woman I remember
In a red shawl with a grey cat on her knee
Humming under a tree.

She seemed the oldest thing I can remember.
But then perhaps I was not more than three.
It was long ago.

I dragged on the dusty road, and I remember
How the old woman looked over the fence at me
And seemed to know

How it felt to be three, and called out, I remember
"Do you like bilberries and cream for tea?"
I went under the tree.

And while she hummed, and the cat purred, I remember
How she filled a saucer with berries and cream for me
So long ago.

Such berries and such cream as I remember
I never had seen before, and never see
Today, you know.

And that is almost all I can remember,
The house, the mountain, the gray cat on her knee,
Her red shawl, and the tree,

And the taste of the berries, the feel of the sun I remember,
And the smell of everything that used to be
So long ago,

Till the heat on the road outside again I remember
And how the long dusty road seemed to have for me
No end, you know.

That is the farthest thing I can remember.
It won't mean much to you. It does to me.
Then I grew up, you see.

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Comments


  • August 10
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    rhyme!

    From guest Julie McMullen (contact)
    My fiance liked that cos it seemed to rhyme!! I read it all colloquially to him!!


  • July 24
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    The Great Poem

    From guest Michael Chan (contact)
    I was looking for this because I read this before and I thought it was perfect for an example for my assignment. It clearly shows a picture of a great childhood in your head. Such a great picture too.. reminds of my earlier childhood..


  • February 19
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    Memory

    From guest June Edgar (contact)
    I was looking for this, its the best picture of a memory I can imagine. Thankyou for having it here.