JUST KIDDING
I'm standing here in my swimmers, ready for a dip
And the ocean's waiting, cool and bright and blue.
For a moment I am standing here, readying myself
And, incidentally, taking-in the view.
Now! A deep breath! I stride towards
The doors that are swinging wide,
Over the tables, over the rail
To splash on the other side.
Picture it, ladies and gentlemen!
How athletically I flew!
Sadly, I make an admission.....
Not one word of it is true!
*
The sea is quite a way away
(Note the strip of green).
And.... me in my swimmers! Don't make me laugh!
That's a sight not to be seen.
What is real is the location,
A hotel by the sea,
Where we often go for lunch,
And where the view is free.
*
-----------------------------------------------------------
A HINT OF GOLD
Only a hint of yellow and a name that's incomplete,
But a huge piece of my memory-bank and a well-remembered street.
This was 'Kangaroo Valley', or, to be precise, Earls Court,
Where I lived in London, the city where I taught.
The street was called the Cromwell Road; I suppose it's called that still.
I remember it so very well and I think I always will.
I lived there with friend Margaret, now in the USA;
Was it two years , was it three? The memory slips away.
We used to go to dances and we had boy-friends I know,
But I've forgotten most of them; it was all so long ago!
When Margaret left for America, and I sailed away as well,
Our changes of direction suddenly broke the spell.
But I often consider the nick-name of the Cromwell Road because,
Many decades later I ended up in Oz.
'Kangaroo Valley' they called it and it didn't mean a thing,
As I hadn't the remotest idea of what the years would bring.
It was full of Australians. They seemed a foreign breed,
But full of great exuberance, enjoying life, indeed!
Yes, I know it was a happy time, that youthful time of old.
The picture may be 'yellow' but the memories are GOLD.
*
