Saturday, 21 January 2017

Source unknown

The horse and mule live 30 years
and nothing know of wine or beers.
The goat and sheep, they also die
and never taste of scotch or rye.
The cow drinks water by the ton
and then at 18 years is done.
Without the aid of rum or gin
the dog at 15 cashes in.
The cat in milk and water soaks
and then in 12 short years it croaks.
The modest, sober, bone-dry hen
lays eggs for nogs, then dies at 10.
All animals are strictly dry:
they sinless live and swiftly die.
But sinful, ginful, rum-soaked men
survive for three score years and ten.
And some of us - a mighty few -
keep drinking till we’re 92!

4 comments:

joeh said...

The African elephant often gets loaded;
eating overripe berries;
except for poachers and hunters so mean;
his life of 70 years seldom varies.

hey, I gave it a shot. Great poem! (yours)

Sharon said...

Love the poem. On another note, I read THE PALE BATTALION that you mentioned. A very fine book. Thank you.

Brighton Pensioner said...

Glad you enjoyed it, Sharon.

Jenny Woolf said...

We used to have this printed on a tea towel so got to know it very well at one time. But I had forgotten about it in the intervening years.