Where's My Billy Goat Gone To?
'Twas a birthday gift Miss Posie had
When she was nine, and twenty:
Not of gold -- Oh, no! -- nor gem, nor pearl,
Tho' he who gave had plenty.
'Twas a gift she took so much to heart,
Her neighbors thought her silly;
'Twas a B-A-B-Y (Baby) Goat,
A snow-white Baby Billy!
Pretty little Billy, Billy -- Oh!
Where's my Billy Goat gone to?
Take my home! Take my farm!
Yes, me too (if you want to);
But tell me! tell me!
Where's my Billy Goat gone to?
Pretty little Billy, Billy -- Oh!
Where's my Billy Goat gone to?
When she tried to teach him how to read,
Twas only "baa" he'd utter;
As she coaxed him then with cake and cream,
He'd slyly turn to butt her.
Yet he taught himself a thousand tricks,
And many a curious caper;
He would clamber to her chimney top,
And dine there on brown paper.
When the winter came she bought him shoes,
And flannel red she ordered
For a Sunday suit, with trousers cut
Four-legged and embroidered
On the steeple soon in tatters hung,
They set the parson snarling;
And he called that goat Be-el-ze-bub --
The one that she called Darling.
Pretty little Billy, Billy -- Oh!
Where's my Billy Goat gone to?
He was fond of roaming on the rocks,
With workmen in the quarry;
And if there he found their luncheon pails,
Not he but they were sorry.
For he raised aloft his iron brow,
Despite the foreman's clamor;
And the pails, he crushed them one by one,
As with a blacksmith's hammer.
Pretty little Billy, Billy -- Oh!
Where's my Billy Goat gone to?
Then for pails replaced and pails concealed
Each morning he went searching,
Till at last he found a shining prize,
Upon a boulder perching.
Had he read its label, "Dynamite!"
He might have known his blunder;
But he gave it one tremendous blow,
And then came peals of thunder!
Pretty little Billy, Billy -- Oh!
Where's my Billy Goat gone to?
poem by Henry Clay Work
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Hik-Tee-Dik!
THE WAR-CRY OF BILLY AND BUDDY
When two little boys--renowned but for noise--
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!--
May hurt a whole school, and the head it employs,
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!
Such loud and hilarious pupils indeed
Need learning--and yet something further they need,
Though fond hearts that love them may sorrow and bleed.
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!
O the schoolmarm was cool, and in no wise a fool;
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!
And in ruling her ranks it was _her_ rule to _rule_;
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!
So when these two pupils conspired, every day,
Some mad piece of mischief, with whoop and hoo-ray,
That hurt yet defied her,--how happy were they!--
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!
At the ring of the bell they 'd rush in with a yell--
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!
And they'd bang the school-door till the plastering fell,
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!
They'd clinch as they came, and pretend not to see
As they knocked her desk over--then, _My!_ and _O-me!_
How awfully sorry they'd both seem to be!
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!
This trick seemed so neat and so safe a conceit,--
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!--
They played it three times--though the third they were beat;
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!
For the teacher, she righted her desk--raised the lid
And folded and packed away each little kid--
Closed the incident so--yes, and locked it, she did--
Hik-tee-dik! Billy and Buddy!
poem by James Whitcomb Riley
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Billy Get Your Guns
I just seen trouble
He's calling out your name tonite
Billy get your guns
You could walk away
But I know you were born to fight
So Billy get your guns
The bandileros are strung out
In the promenade
Billy get your guns
Chorus
Billy get your guns
There's trouble blowing like a hurricane
Billy get your guns
That's the price on your head for the
Price of fame
And it'll never change
Billy get your guns
There's a whiskey bottle empty
Sittin' on the bar
Billy get your guns
And some organ grinder singing
About some sucker moving on
Billy get your guns
All the whores are hanging out
Waiting to get paid
Billy get your guns
From some Johnny on the spot
Who said hey keep the change baby
Billy get your guns
There's trouble blowing like a hurricane
Billy get your guns
That's the price on your head for the
Price of fame
And it'll never change
song performed by by Bon Jovi
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Billy Radcliff
Billy radcliffe didnt go to town and when he looked up he was really looking down catching blue in his eyes that were brown billy radcliffe
Billy radcliffe owned by the state from his first breath to the cemetery gate he was the first boy born in space billy radcliffe
Billy radcliffe very first one he really had lived just a cursed son a split in half man sang the cherubim billy radcliffe
Billy radcliffe saw what the devil man saw a spot of blue in the black of the eye of the lord such a cruel love is the kind that has wrought billy radcliffe
Billy sadly didnt live long he had to stay there because he wasnt too strong hes stepping out the door blowing up like a bomb billy radcliffe
Billy radcliffe very first one really a hatched man a light switch son a split in half man sang the cherubim I bet you cried when he died now didja, now didja?
Now billy radcliffe saw what the devil man saw a spot of blue in the black of the eye of the lord now billy radcliffe saw what the devil had and I feel very bad for william radcliffe
song performed by by Frank Black
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Billy-Goat Overland
Come all ye lads of the droving days, ye gentlemen unafraid,
I'll tell you all of the greatest trip that ever a drover made,
For we rolled our swags, and we packed our bags, and taking our lives in hand,
We started away with a thousand goats, on the billy-goat overland.
There wasn't a fence that'd hold the mob, or keep 'em from their desires;
They skipped along the top of the posts and cake-walked on the wires.
And where the lanes had been stripped of grass and the paddocks were nice and green,
The goats they travelled outside the lanes and we rode in between.
The squatters started to drive them back, but that was no good at all,
Their horses ran for the lick of their lives from the scent that was like a wall:
And never a dog had pluck or gall in front of the mob to stand
And face the charge of a thousand goats on the billy-goat overland.
We found we were hundreds over strength when we counted out the mob;
And they put us in jail for a crowd of theives that travelled to steal and rob:
For every goat between here and Bourke, when he scented our spicy band,
Had left his home and his work to join in the billy-goat overland.
poem by Andrew Barton Paterson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Stagger Lee
The night was clear, and the moon was yellow
And the leaves came tumblin down. . .
I was standin on the corner
When I heard my bull dog bark.
He was barkin at the two men
Who were gamblin in the dark.
It was stagger lee and billy,
Two men who gambled late.
Stagger lee threw a seven,
Billy swore that he threw eight.
Stagger lee, said billy,
I cant let you go with that.
You have won all my money,
And my brand-new stetson hat.
Stagger lee went home
And he got his .44.
He said, Im goin to the ballroom
Just to pay that debt I owe.
(bridge)
Go, stagger lee
Stagger lee went to the ballroom
And he strolled across the ballroom floor.
He said you did me wrong, billy.
And he pulled his .44.
Stagger lee, said billy,
Oh, please dont take my life!
Ive got three hungry children,
And a very sickly wife.
Stagger lee shot billy
Oh, he shot that poor boy so hard
That a bullet went through billy
And broke the bartenders bar.
Go, stagger lee, go, stagger lee!
Go, stagger lee, go, stagger lee!
(to fade)
song performed by by Huey Lewis And The News
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Don't Loose My Number
They came at night leaving fear behind
Shadows were on the ground
Nobody knew where to find him
No evidence was found
"I'm never coming back"
They heard him cry
And I believe him
Well he never meant to do anything wrong
It's gonna get worse if he waits too long
Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
Cos you're not anywhere
That I can find you
Oh now Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
Cos you're not anywhere that I can find you, oh no
Searching through the day and into the night
They wouldn't stop till they found him
They didn't know him and they didn't understand
They never asked him why
"Get out of my way"
They heard him shout
Then a blinding light
Ooh all I could see was him running down the street
Out of the shadows and into the night
Now Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
Cos you're not anywhere
That I can find you, oh
Now Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
Cos you're not anywhere that I can find you, oh
Don't give up
Keep running, keep hiding
Don't give up
Billy, if you know you're right
Don't give up
You know that I am on your side
Don't give up
Oh Billy, you better, you better, you better run for your life
Now Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
Cos you're not anywhere
That I can find you, oh
Now Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
Cos you're not anywhere that I can find you, oh
They came at night leaving fear behind
Shadows were on the ground
Nobody knew where to find him
No evidence was found
"I'm never coming back"
They heard him cry
And I believe him
He never meant to do anything wrong
It's gonna get worse if he waits too long
Now Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
Cos you're not anywhere
That I can find you, oh
Now Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
Cos you're not anywhere that I can find you, oh
song performed by by Phil Collins
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Billys Bones
Billy ran around with the rare old crew
And he knew an arsenal from tottenham blue
Wed be a darn sight better of if we knew
Where billys bones are resting now
Billy saw a copper and he hit him in the knee
And he took him down from six foot to five foot three
Then he hit him fair and square in the do-re-mi
That copper wont be having any family
Hey billy son where are you now
Dont you know that we need you now
With a ra-ta-ta and the old kow-tow
Where are billys bones resting now
Billy went away with the peace-keeping force
cause he liked a bloody good fight of course
Went away in an old khaki van to the banks of the river jordan
Billy saw the arabs and he had em on the run
When he got em in the range of his sub-machine gun
Then he had the israelis in his sights, went a ra-ta-ta
And they ran like shiites
Hey billy son where are you now
Dont you know that we need you now
With a ra-ta-ta and the old kow-tow
Where are billys bones resting now
One night billy had a rare old time,
Laughing and singing on the lebanon line
Came back to camp not looking too pretty
Never even got to see the holy city
Now billys out there in the desert sun
And his mother cries when the morning comes
And theres mothers crying all over this world
For their poor dead darling boys and girls
Hey billy son where are you now
Dont you know that we need you now
With a ra-ta-ta and the old kow-tow
Where are billys bones resting now
Have a billy holiday
Born on a monday
Married on a tuesday
Drunk on a wednesday
Got plugged on a thursday
Sick on a friday
Died on a saturday
Buried on a sunday
song performed by by Pogues
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Pretty Polly
(Traditional:arr K.J.Garside C.Gray)
Polly pretty Polly come go away with me,
Polly pretty Polly come go away with me,
Before we get married some pleasures to see.
She jumped up beside him and away they did go,
She jumped up beside him and away they did go,
Over the mountains and the valleys below.
Billy oh Billy I'm afraid for my life,
Billy oh Billy I'm afraid for my life,
I'm afraid you mean to murder me and leave me behind,
Polly pretty Polly you're guessing about right,
Polly pretty Polly you're guessing about right,
I've been digging your grave for the best part of your,
life.
He stabbed her through the heart and her hot blood did,
flow,
He stabbed her through the heart and her hot blood did,
flow,
And into the grave pretty Polly did go.
He threw a little dirt over her and started for home,
He threw a little dirt over her and started for home,
Leaving nobody there but the wild birds to moan.
A debt to the devil Billy must pay,
A debt to the devil Billy must pay,
For killing pretty Polly and running away.
song performed by by Queen Adreena
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Billy Is A Runaway
Billy was a Bird dog
He pulled up in a Bonneville
I went to see my manager
He usually handles these things
Billy pulled his wallet
Full of hundred dollar bills
Took me for a joyride
Talkin' 'bout the stereo
Drivin' in the left lane
I'm thinkin' 'bout my burial
We pulled into the liquor store
And he was underage
And all he said to me was
Put your money away
'Cause Billy is a runaway
Billy's got a Family
Gonna skin him alive
His dope dealing sister
Wants him to join the enterprise
I leave him at the motel
They can talk it all over
His sister's got a baby now
And Billy hardly knows her
Well I'm a friendly kind of guy
And I had to have him over
I gave him a drink
What do you think
His hands start shakin'
His boots start quakin'
Billy is a runaway (x4)
Runaway (x3)
His hands start shakin'
His boots start quakin'
Runaway baby
Billy is a runaway (x2)
song performed by by Iggy Pop
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Billy The Mongolian Whistler
Billy the Mongolian whistler
came to England in 1963.
His whistling was so outstanding,
they put him up a tree.
Now Billy had a bird phobia
especially when they went tweet.
So putting him up a tree was thoughtless
if his phobia he had to beat.
As the first daylight was breaking
and the birds began to tweet.
Billy the Mongolian whistler
instead of whistling began to tweet.
Billy was so embarrassed,
down from the tree he came
and Billy the Mongolian whistler
has never been the same again.
A psychiatrist was called in for Billy,
to see if they could put him right.
But he had returned to the desert
where there isn’t a bird in sight.
poem by Orlando Belo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Iry And Billy Jo
Iry an' Billy an' Jo!--
Iry an' Billy's _the boys_,
An' _Jo's_ their _dog_, you know,--
Their pictures took all in a row.
Bet they kin kick up a noise--
Iry and Billy, the boys,
And that-air little dog Jo!
_Iry's_ the one 'at stands
Up there a-lookin' so mild
An' meek--with his hat in his hands,
Like such a 'bediant child--
(_Sakes-alive_!)--An' _Billy_ he sets
In the cheer an' holds onto Jo an' _sweats_
Hisse'f, a-lookin' so good! Ho-ho!
Iry an' Billy an' Jo!
Yit the way them boys, you know,
Usen to jes turn in
An' fight over that dog Jo
Wuz a burnin'-shame-an'-a-sin !--
Iry _he'd_ argy 'at, by gee-whizz!
That-air little Jo-dog wuz _his_!--
An' Billy _he'd_ claim it wuzn't so--
'Cause the dog wuz _his'n_!--An' at it they'd go,
Nip-an'-tugg, tooth-an'-toenail, you know--
Iry an' Billy an' Jo!
But their Pa--(He wuz the marshal then)
He 'tended-like 'at he _jerked 'em up_;
An' got a jury o' Brickyard men
An' helt a _trial_ about the pup:
An' _he_ says _he_ jes like to a-died
When the rest o' us town-boys _testified_--
Regardin', you know,
Iry an' Billy an' Jo.--
'Cause we all knowed, when _the Gypsies_ they
Camped down here by the crick last Fall,
They brung Jo with 'em, an' give him away
To Iry an' Billy fer nothin' at all!--
So the jury fetched in the _verdick_ so
Jo he ain't _neether_ o' theirn fer _shore_--
He's _both_ their dog, an' jes no more!
An' so
They've quit quarrelin' long ago,
Iry an' Billy an' Jo.
poem by James Whitcomb Riley
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Only A Snippet From History
A young Brooklyn man
'Billy The Kid'
Was sentenced to death
~~ For murder ~~
He escaped the punishment
By murdering again, but
This was in vain.
He was still on the run.
One County Sheriff
'Saw red' it is said!
And using a gun
Shot Billy dead.
The history of Billy
Is detailed with care.
This is only a snippet
I do declare.
poem by Joyce Hemsley
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Billy And His Drum
Ho! it's come, kids, come!
'With a bim! bam! bum!
Here's little Billy bangin' on his big bass drum!
He's a-marchin' round the room,
With his feather-duster plume
A-noddin' an' a-bobbin' with his bim! bom! boom!
Looky, little Jane an' Jim!
Will you only look at him,
A-humpin' an' a-thumpin' with his bam! bom! bim!
Has the Day o' Judgment come
Er the New Mi-len-nee-um?
Er is it only Billy with his bim! bam! bim!
I 'm a-comin'; yes, I am--
Jim an' Sis, an' Jane an' Sam!
We'll all march off with Billy an' his bom! bim! bam!
Come _hurrawin'_ as you come,
Er they'll think you're deef-an'-dumb
Ef you don't hear little Billy an' his big bass drum!
poem by James Whitcomb Riley
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I Would Like To Write A Billy Collins Poem
I WOULD LIKE TO WRITE A BILLY COLLINS’ POEM
I would like to write a Billy Collins poem-
Not for Billy Collins
But to show that I could be as imaginative in story
As humorous and humane as he is-
But I can’t write that poem.
I don’t have his gift for the everyday experience
And for surprising metaphor
For those qualities good poets ordinarily have-
I would like to write a Billy Collins poem
To show that I can be a good poet too.
But probably I am just a different kind of thing entirely.
Still reading Billy Collins poems has added a bit
To my sense of what Poetry is-
It is remarkable all the wonderful gifts others have
One can appreciate
Without having oneself.
poem by Shalom Freedman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Dont Lose My Number
They came at night leaving fear behind
Shadows were on the ground
Nobody knew where to find him
No evidence was found
Im never coming back
They heard him cry
And I believe him
Well he never meant to do anything wrong
Its gonna get worse if he waits too long
Billy, billy dont you lose my number
Cos youre not anywhere
That I can find you
Oh now billy, billy dont you lose my number
Cos youre not anywhere that I can find you, oh no
Searching through the day and into the night
They wouldnt stop till they found him
They didnt know him and they didnt understand
They never asked him why
Get out of my way
They heard him shout
Then a blinding light
Ooh all I could see was him running down the street
Out of the shadows and into the night
Now billy, billy dont you lose my number
Cos youre not anywhere
That I can find you, oh
Now billy, billy dont you lose my number
Cos youre not anywhere that I can find you, oh
Dont give up
Keep running, keep hiding
Dont give up
Billy, if you know youre right
Dont give up
You know that I am on your side
Dont give up
Oh billy, you better, you better, you better run for your life
Now billy, billy dont you lose my number
Cos youre not anywhere
That I can find you, oh
Now billy, billy dont you lose my number
Cos youre not anywhere that I can find you, oh
They came at night leaving fear behind
Shadows were on the ground
Nobody knew where to find him
No evidence was found
Im never coming back
They heard him cry
And I believe him
He never meant to do anything wrong
Its gonna get worse if he waits too long
Now billy, billy dont you lose my number
Cos youre not anywhere
That I can find you, oh
Now billy, billy dont you lose my number
Cos youre not anywhere that I can find you, oh
song performed by by Phil Collins
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Dont Lose My Number
They came at night leaving fear behind
Shadows were on the ground
Nobody knew where to find him
No evidence was found
Im never coming back
They heard him cry
And I believe him
Well he never meant to do anything wrong
Its gonna get worse if he waits too long
Billy, billy dont you lose my number
Cos youre not anywhere
That I can find you
Oh now billy, billy dont you lose my number
Cos youre not anywhere that I can find you, oh no
Searching through the day and into the night
They wouldnt stop till they found him
They didnt know him and they didnt understand
They never asked him why
Get out of my way
They heard him shout
Then a blinding light
Ooh all I could see was him running down the street
Out of the shadows and into the night
Now billy, billy dont you lose my number
Cos youre not anywhere
That I can find you, oh
Now billy, billy dont you lose my number
Cos youre not anywhere that I can find you, oh
Dont give up
Keep running, keep hiding
Dont give up
Billy, if you know youre right
Dont give up
You know that I am on your side
Dont give up
Oh billy, you better, you better, you better run for your life
Now billy, billy dont you lose my number
Cos youre not anywhere
That I can find you, oh
Now billy, billy dont you lose my number
Cos youre not anywhere that I can find you, oh
They came at night leaving fear behind
Shadows were on the ground
Nobody knew where to find him
No evidence was found
Im never coming back
They heard him cry
And I believe him
He never meant to do anything wrong
Its gonna get worse if he waits too long
Now billy, billy dont you lose my number
Cos youre not anywhere
That I can find you, oh
Now billy, billy dont you lose my number
Cos youre not anywhere that I can find you, oh
song performed by by Phil Collins
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The more the billy goat stinks, the more the nanny goat loves him.
A Boy's Song
Where the pools are bright and deep,
Where the grey trout lies asleep,
Up the river and over the lea,
That's the way for Billy and me.
Where the blackbird sings the latest,
Where the hawthorn blooms the sweetest,
Where the nestlings chirp and flee,
That's the way for Billy and me.
Where the mowers mow the cleanest,
Where the hay lies thick and greenest,
There to track the homeward bee,
That's the way for Billy and me.
Where the hazel bank is steepest,
Where the shadow falls the deepest,
Where the clustering nuts fall free,
That's the way for Billy and me.
Why the boys should drive away
Little sweet maidens from the play,
Or love to banter and fight so well,
That's the thing I never could tell.
But this I know, I love to play
Through the meadow, among the hay;
Up the water and over the lea,
That's the way for Billy and me.
poem by James Hogg
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Rockaway The Days
Billy got out of prison but he wasnt right
Some like to drink or gamble, billy liked to fight
He tracked back to his home state of maryland
Went to his moms mobile home where she took him in, alright
Chorus:
Rockaway the days, rockaway the nights
Gimme something to last me, baby, till the morning light
I aint lookin for trouble, I aint looking for a fight
Honey rockaway these days, rockaway these nights
Well at a picnic one sunday billy met mary dove
Mary looked at billy, billy fell in love
Billy swore to mary hed always love her so
They were married in the valley where the river flows, alright
(chorus)
At a roadside bar billy argued with a young man
And he settled that argument with a razor in his hand
With blood on his shirt back to mary he did run
She sighed billy, oh billy, what have you done?
He ran to his mas trailer but the lights were dim
He pounded on the door, she wouldnt let him in
Up the road to a neighbors house he drew near
They said billy go away, we dont want no trouble round here
Billy stole a car and headed out on the road
Pocketful of pills and his brain on overload
Seen some lights in his rearview mirror, panicked and gave her the gun
Wrapped himself round a telephone pole way out on 101
Well billy got cut out by the highway patrol
Just lay there with the cars passing on slow
Sheriff told billys ma that billy died
She buried his body by the riverside, alright
(chorus)
Well rich man want the power and the seat on the top
Poor man want the money that the rich man got
Honey tonight Im feeling so tired and unsure
Come on in mary, shut the light, close the door
(chorus)
song performed by by Bruce Springsteen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Billy's Rain Day
Rain Rain stay around
For little billy and his friends
want to play for this is little
Billy's Birthday
An in the rain he wants
to play they all want to
run through your rain
puddles
Rain you taste so sweet
rain you make the best
mud to squeeze between
their toes for when their
done, you sweet rain will
wash them once again
clean.
All the evidence to their crime
will be gone
mother will never know there's been
any thing done wrong.
And when little Billy gets home
its Birthday cake, presents.
GAYLE GOFF
JAN 16,2008
dedicated to my grandson
BILLY HORN
poem by Gayle Anne Goff
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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