Ample

Ample

I miss my childhood days
and visits to Granny's.
No room to swing a cat,
though she had two.
Her bungalow boasted:
one bog, one bed, one sitting room.

When Mam asked what Gran needed,
she'd always say the same.

“I've a pillow for my head,
a place to cook, an’ all,
my larder holds enough for three,
but I'm all on my own.”

She loved to sit and read or knit
and rarely watched the box.
She sometimes asked her friends for tea
or played her gramophone.

“But surely you want summat,”
my mam would say again.
“A treat or two to ease your days,
some help to mow the lawn.”

“You young uns allus make a fuss.”
Granny shook her head.
“Nothing's ever good enough -
the Lord God owes you more.

“The only things you really need
are family, food, and friends,
a hearth to keep the chill away,
a roof over your head.

“Afore too long, I'll breathe my last
and leave it all behind.
So save your brass for rainy days;
just spare me some time.”

Why do we struggle through our lives
unhappy with our lot?
Although we've more than yesteryear,
we want more than we've got.

Why can't we be more like my gran -
contented with our share?
Instead of striving to be rich,
let's aim to love and laugh and live.



Notes

40 lines
free verse


bog = toilet/bathroom
mam = mother
nowt = nothing
an’ all = also
larder = pantry, food cupboard
the box = television
summat = something
allus = always
brass = money