"Cowboys and Indians" or "The Optimist"

Many years ago

When I first moved

To the country

I worked on a farm.

On my way to work

I'd often come across

A traffic jam

In the country lane.

Godfrey walking behind

Ernie Hathams Cows

Re-enacting the film he'd seen

The previous night on TV.

One morning he would strut

Legs bowed from an evening

Bronc busting, hands hovering

Over his holstered colts.

Next day perhaps

With his rifle at the high port

He'd patrol the lane behind the cows

Wary head swivelling to find Germans in ambush.

When Godfrey became a Red Indian

Wellington boots lifting and shuffling

To the beat of the war dance

You kept tight hold of your scalp.

Every so often an advert would appear

In the local paper

"Wanted, Live in Housekeeper,

Apply, Godfrey,

The Caravan,

Ernie Hatham's Farm!"

Copyright © Res JFB 22nd February 2008