The day was clear, and still,

Summer was almost gone,

From my window, I saw

How bright the sun shone

 

Upon this small, fair boy

Walking along the way;

And in his hand, a lead,

Holding his dog at bay -

 

The boy looked poor: his clothes,

Poor too - his trainers worn -

But when I saw his face,

It was not sad, forlorn...

 

And right then it occured to me

'I bet he's never seen the sea,

Except in a book, or on TV' -

And was the field he walked beside

His idea of the countryside?

 

No sadness in that small boy's face

Did I espy, as he

Sat down upon an old tree stump -

Dog waited, patiently...

 

He stroked the dog, and I could see

His profile: he looked tenderly

Upon his pet: his pride, his joy! -

Such love shone out of that small boy...

 

Poignancy pierced deep:

Such sweet sadness I'll keep...

 

And when the sun has left the sky;

And should I, sad with life, then sigh,

Then I'll recall that sunlit day

When boy and dog came by my way.....................