It’s taken me years
But now I know what it’s like
To have supper all ready
And then be told that the most
Important person will be late:
No, I didn’t shed tears
But I felt like taking a hike
To wear off this bad, heady
Feeling of being left at the post
Like a slow horse leaving the gate.
Still I have no fears
That you could easily psych
Me out like a weak eddy
Fighting the current at the coast
When the waves refuse to abate;
For the envy of your peers
Keeps me looking after your tike
Getting her ready for beddy-
Byes and cooking her a small roast
Which she won’t find ornate.
So if you are someone who hears
About the kid holding back the dike
As if the flood from a medi-
Æval story had tried to boast
About changing the course of fate,
Remember that he who has ears
Can get rid of the mic
And make sure that the teddy-
Bear eats all of his burnt toast
But doesn’t complain about what he ate.
(written in 1978)