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TheRumelier
05-31-2009, 08:40 PM
I found this poem in an old guide book to Barbados from 1964. I bought the book because they said they had some rums ads and sugar cane photos. But the surprise was this poem. It sums some of us up!! Enjoy

Ode to Rum


"The horse and mule live thirty years,
And nothing know of wine and beers.
The goat and sheep at thirty die
And never taste of scotch or rye,
The cow drinks water by the ton,
And at eighteen is nearly done.
The dog at fifteen cashes in
Without the aid of rum or gin,
The cat in milk and water soaks,
And then in twelve short years it croaks,
The modest, sober, bone dry hen
Lays eggs for nogs, then dies at ten.
All animals are strictly dry
They sinless live and swiftly die
But sinful, ginful, rum-soaked men
Survive for three score years and ten."

Poem taken from "The Barbados Book" by Louis Lynch, 1964.

Rum Runner
05-31-2009, 09:15 PM
That deserves to be posted in any good rum bar.

Good find Rumelier.

Edward Hamilton
05-31-2009, 11:46 PM
I've seen that in a few island bars but never without some spelling mistakes. It's nice to see the original.

RonJames
06-01-2009, 09:29 AM
Im with rum runner, that does belong in a rum bar

Hank Koestner
06-01-2009, 06:09 PM
That certainly is a great poem, and I bet Rumelier can recite it from memory, even after more than a few rums. Well, maybe not.....:)cheers.gif

Gecko
06-02-2009, 02:21 PM
Now that's a great piece of writing. I will have this posted in The Dog House.cheers.gif

TheRumelier
06-02-2009, 10:04 PM
That certainly is a great poem, and I bet Rumelier can recite it from memory, even after more than a few rums. Well, maybe not.....:)cheers.gif

I doubt it these days!! The book I found it in is amazing. A real look at life in Barbados from years passed. Unfortunately there is only one rum add and one sugar cane photo, but there is a great photo of the old Harbour Policeman (like the famous Doorly's bottle) in a rowing boat. As soon I replace my recently stolen scanner I will post it on my site along with the rum ad. I just started a page on my Barbados trip from a couple of years ago. I had to get someone to retreive the photos from my crashed computer at work and still have to finish the recent Puerto Rico trip!!

Edward Hamilton
06-02-2009, 10:28 PM
It's always something. As busy as you are I'm surprised you have time to even post on this forum. I can barely find the time except at the end of the day when I've got a glass of rum in my hand.