Patrolling neath a wintry night sky
Waiting for the three hours to fly
We stopped and talked to many men
Cycling home to their family den.

Laughing they called a loud goodnight
Pleased to see us in the light
Knowing that we wished them well
A safe ride home to their families to tell.

Some who had been to bet on the horses
Told us of their wins or losses
Then two old men so neatly dressed
Stopped for a while their legs to rest.

Asked if they too had been to the races
They answered us with smiling faces -
"We don't bet we simply sweep
The gallery where the stewards keep.

Holding their parties for V.I.P.s
Or lady friends they hope to please
But when Mr Smith visits the tracks
We help to serve the sundowner snacks.

We laughed and talked and said good-bye
With a trace of a tear in a rather moist eye
For what we both had at once detected
Was their pride in serving a man they respected.

From the collection - RHODESIAN REVERIE
Memories by Robert Heinrich Percival Cornell
Contributed by his grandson Rob Staniland
Email : Rob