The Old Corner Shop: Poem by David Wood
The Old Corner Shop:
When I was a lad all those years ago
We'd get our shopping from the corner shop,
There were no supermarkets then you know
The pace of life slower, now it's nonstop.
We were served by a little old lady
Who would gather our order while we wait,
I think her name was Mrs O'Grady,
And nothing ever had a sell by date.
She would tot up our order in her head
There were no computers then, or fancy till,
Just a pad and a pencil tipped with lead
We knew she was right when we got the bill.
Her husband delivered the milk each day
He had a horse and cart to do his round,
He'd leave a pint of milk in our doorway
And collect all the empties that he found.
The bottles were all cleaned and used again,
No plastic dumped after only one use
In landfill, that would seem very insane,
And from which there could be no excuse.
But along came the supermarket chain
And we all had to stand in a long queue
We'd walk round the aisles again and again
And we got our Green Shield stamps which was new.
We collected thousands of them each week
The dreaded Green Shield stamp books grew and grew
They became an irritant, something pique,
Gone the old way of life, the life we knew.
Beautiful, David. So true and a bit sad that these wonderful corner shops with old ladies serving us, have no longer a place in our world.
when the time comes, i wonder what our children in turn will say thanks David
Nice nostalgic poem David. My grandfather owned a grocery store that he built with his father when he was a teenager. I remember talking with Vinny the Butcher, picking out a free piece of candy, and all the elderly ladies that my grandfather took care of, hand delivering their groceries and checking in on them regularly. Then came Kroger! Oh well. Those were the days. Thanks for sharing your light verse and memories with us! Take care.
Those good old days, gone but never forgotten.This is especially dear to one of my age.A smooth flowing, well rhymed reminder of yesteryear.Very appealing at 10
Thank you, there were less health and safety regulations but I think we were all healthier then.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/23/2024 9:18:49 AM # 1.0.0.1119
I like this poem very much, David. The rhyming is great, it flows well, and gives an honest appraisal of how impersonal this progressive society has become.
Thank you, those at the check out tills in supermarkets can no longer add up a set of figures in their head the till does it for them. They call that progress.