By The Old Peat Fire (A Children's Rhyme) . Poem by PAUL COLVIN

The old man was so cold that day, his teeth began to chatter,
His loving wife sat in the chair, then asked him “what’s the matter”?
He turned to her, his back all hunched, and said, “I’ll get some peat
You get my boots and I’ll try on, my brand new wooden feet”!
He strapped his feet onto his legs and looked across the room
Where his wife was dusting down his boots with a double handed broom,
He put them on and grabbed his coat then gave an awful stare,
His feet were on the wrong way round but he just didn’t care.
So off he went to cut the peat, a spade across his shoulder
Marching down, with wonky walk, he used to be a soldier!
First he’d hobble to the left then stumble to the right
And every time he took a step, he gave himself a fright!
Hobbling on, to get the peat, he’d find that near the bog,
But on the way, his feet got stuck, in a little wooden log!
He fell down then rolled along and landed in the river
He managed to get out alright but started then to shiver!
Well he thought, there’s something odd, something isn’t right.
And sure enough, his feet were lost and floating out of sight!
Bobbing up and down they were, two wooden feet afloat
Oh how am I going to get them back, I’ll need to find a boat.
So off he went, all cold and wet, he wasn’t feeling great
He stumped along and hobbled on but he was in a state.
He found a log and paddled out, to his feet, stuck in the bank
And realised then that all his clothes, were filthy and they stank.
He strapped his feet back on again, that brought a smile to his face
But he couldn’t wait to get back home, and get out of this place.
When he reached the bog, his loving wife was waiting on him there
So they cut the peat, and stacked it up and wandered home together.