My Father Said

‘You’ll never miss the water till the well runs dry’

Me father said; now he’s dead,
And she said Goodbye!
When you turn down the radio at eleven
She started reading at seven,but
Not even in the house; ask why.
 

How come you can’t see her back when she leaves?

Only her face and front
And that top that she bought in Dunnes,
Gone to that big shiny aeroplane
Never had ambitions to go down the drain
She liked ‘Spotted Dick’ and penny buns.
 
Longest legs I ever saw from ground to ceiling rising
Going everywhere and nowhere baby
Sometime walk back maybe, perhaps.
She said I was a total absolute ballhooks
With not a chance of changin’
Nobody perfect; maybe Chinese or Japs?
 
She’s gone but still here wreckin’ my distracted head,
Musk scent of her still in the bed
She’s here even though she went.
It was time; she needed the space and the place
And Emma’s grace; my father said
‘You always see better value when your money is spent.
 
Now we talk every day, sun and hay, and she says ‘whatsUp’
Nothing at this end, same good story
Of me and the Jap and buttery bread.
To know what she’s feelin’ or thinkin’ or wantin’,
Maybe my father was right a long time ago
‘girls are like dolls for playing with' he said.