POEMS - With Tongue In Cheek

[keithgood838]

Yes, amusingly thought-provoking Marian.
A booklet entitled Ten Poems About Tea
(L&H spring instantly to mind) has been published recently
in which Kenny Knight rejoices in the time when
'the teapot was the centre of the universe',
and John Agard asserts 'put the kettle on is the British answer
to Armageddon'.
The following extract also deals with infidelity
but in an unfulfilled context. The piece is a novel
memorably condensed into verse form.

AT TEA

The kettle descants in a cosy drone,
And the young wife looks in her husband's face,
And then at her guest's, and shows in her own
Her sense that she fills an envied place;
And the visiting lady is all abloom,
And says there never was so sweet a room.

And the happy young housewife does not know
that the woman beside her was his first choice,
Till the fates ordained it could not be so ...
Betraying nothing in look or voice
The guest sits smiling and sips her tea,
And he throws her a stray glance yearningly.

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)

[Lena & Harry Smith]

Very good Keith, and yes, tea cures everything, has been well researched and kept us going through the war and reminiscence of those years sitting in the communal shelter. My mum with SW .for ..Shelter Warden painted on her tin hat, and leaving to go round home each evening at 9'oclock to make and bring back that huge enamel jug of welcome tea for everyone.
Reminds me, must put the kettle on, Eileen will be here shortly. Looking forward to hearing of her St Patricks day yesterday and if she remembers it.

[Gray]

Oh that has made me laugh, Lena!

Great post too, Keith!

[Lena & Harry Smith]

Well, Gray, my friend Eileen did celebrate the evening before but she remembered what my usual hair colouring was. She confessed to having a Four leaf clover in her pocket.

[keithgood838]

Reading Lena's tea-related wartime reminiscences
prompted a few memories of mine. The following verse
concluded the contents of my slim volume published
in 1995. I was still living in Bandon, Co. Cork, when
I had my Delius moment on hearing Matt sing on Winifred
Atwell's radio show; thanks to Michele's book I have been
able to pinpoint that I was then a callow youth of 17.
I don't know where the years go; however I do know
that they are still being enriched by the music of Matt Monro:

WEIR STREET

I hadn't forgotten you at all.
How could I?
I, who had spent countless
of my carefree childhood hours playing ball
against your gabled wall.

You housed the fire station
and the old store
in which we used to fool
around, and scour
for broken biscuits on our
way home from school.
And etched on my brain
is Begley's Lane
wherein we gawped in awe
at the Christmas cornucopia
displayed behind each snow-trimmed,
tinselled, toy-filled, shop-window pane.

No, I find that all I need to do
is play my memory-video of you
and I'm in Weir Street, Wonderland again ...

Keith Good

[Lena & Harry Smith]

Nice to read your memories and of your youth Keith. Matt and his songs have enriched our lives too, and we have many reasons to know that his voice will forever play a special part in our memories.

[keithgood838]

Thanks Lena & Harry.
Here is a similarly themed little poem
from the same little book; one of my
rare adventures into free verse:

LEMONADE

The laid-back, fridge-cool mixer
effervesces
with life in the glass
then, eager bubbles
race
in reckless relays
to oblivion at the brim.

And a raging dust-dry thirst
is slaked
by the sweet tang of a thousand
West Cork
childhood memories ...

Keith Good

[Gray]

Really lovely, Keith.

[Lena & Harry Smith]

Yes, really lovely Keith and Lemonade provoked a special memory for us.
A special treat was to go to the corner shop and come home clutching a blue cone shaped bag expertly made up by the shopkeeper containing Lemonade powder to dilute with water to make the best lemonade drink ever. Anyone else remember this ??

[Marian]

Peter remembers this Lena. He thought the coned shaped bags were nicknamed Eiffel Towers

[mariana44]

I remember buying Lemonade Powder--but we used to dip our finger in---and lick it off---yes, I know it sounds disgusting---but it did taste lovely. !!

[keithgood838]

LOOKING BACK

Ah, to luxuriate in nostalgia;
a lovely self-indulgent diversion -
an antidote to mental asynergia
redolent of rose-petalled restrospection.

[Lena & Harry Smith]

Ahh yes Keith ..Looking Back. Can't say we remember those paper cones being called Eiffell Towers Marian, but Peter has a nostalgic memory and it's a very good description, and Marian, don't worry we used to dip our fingers in the Lemonade powder too, which also reminded me of my friend and neighbour Eileen from school days who married and had Four children and this was her pregnancy craving. The lady in our local shop and post office knew about this and made sure there was always a supply.

[Gray]

Brilliant!

Great verse, Keith!

[keithgood838]

Hi Gray
Your appreciation of verse, even of my unpretentious stuff,
indicates a highly developed sense of soul, therefore
your place in heaven is assured. Forgive me for
weaving a little more memory-fabric from this thread:

ENTERTAINMENT

Argyll Street, London W1,
is the modern match for my Market Street
of times past.

You could claim that it is no contest;
that in such a scenario
a street in a small town in West Cork
would be outclassed.

But with its glittering array of sweetshops,
its milling crowds and queuing patrons,
and the Hollywood stars on show,
the Market Street mecca of my memories
stays unsurpassed ...

Keith Good