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SOME OF MY VERSE

 I vaguely recall the first piece of poetry I wrote.  It was at school.  We were asked to produce an essay in no less than 20 lines, describing our favourite food.  I wrote a paean to fish and chips.  Unfortunately I couldn't think of an appropriate rhyme for chips.  So I reversed the phrase.  "My fav'rite dish/Is chips and fish . . ."  Each of the twenty lines consisted of four syllables. "With vinegar/And lots of salt/Much tastier/Than my school malt . . ."  I agonised over whether or not I should submit it to the teacher. She will think I'm trying to be a clever dick, was my thought.  I handed it in, wondering if I might be praised for initiative, or berated for having chosen a form designed to reduce the number of words on a line, hence the length of the essay.  In the event she said absolutely nothing!  Her ignoring my effort made such an impact on me that 64 years on I still recall it vividly.  I was seven years old.

It is not included in the verse reproduced in these pages.  You may be forgiven for thinking that the opening lines sound a lot better than some of the poetry that has been included.  And although I can no longer recall more than the few  lines I've quoted, I am still able to agonise over my temerity in reproducing my verse - then . . . and now!.