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What follows is a poem that my old school friend Zax (Bryan Wagner) composed for the occasion of his retirement after more than forty years of teaching English in Secondary schools.
I chose to read it at his funeral as an appropriate In Memoriam. This followed his 'untimely death' on returning from a prolonged pub session and falling off the moored canal boat he'd
been living on after his retirement. It had been written just after the all-day extension of pub opening hours :
Those gone before , I see them now,
Their final day attained at last.
Their end of term , their farewell bow
Their one-time future soon their past.....
Ahh , yes. At times I almost wept ,
Was even very near to hell
For fear that speech meant I'd be kept
Beyond the Time Please Now closing bell.
That awful bell that formed a frown
On every face behind a bar ,
If by chance you'd want to down
That one more , joyous pint too far.
Despite the old and grumpy sod
Who says the world's insane these days
There's no respect for country , god
Or age. Long gone all traditional ways.
In one respect at least he's wrong ,
That sour , reactionary bore.
For pubs now open all day long
And so for those not yet gone before ,
For you there'll be no closing time
Nor landlord's drill square ordinance
At three , and no discordant chime
Of bar-room bell . Gone that hellish dance -
The proffered note , the urgent plea ,
The wild-eyed glances at the wrist
And panic , as the hour of three
Drew nigh , for fear we'd sober be.
But all such horror's in the past
I trust . And soon will I have , too ,
Joined those gone before. I raise my glass
To them , and farewell to all of you.
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Archive
Poets' Corner #1 – Poetic Pessimism, 13th September 2012
Poets' Corner #2 – The Workman's Friend, 10th October 2012
Poets' Corner #3 – On The Trail of Two Dylans, 12th November 2012
Poets' Corner #4 – Omar Khayyam, 14th December 2012
Poets' Corner #5 – William Blake, 25th January 2013
Poets' Corner #6 – A Minor Poet, 19th February 2013
Poets' Corner #7 – Thomas Hardy, 20th March 2013
Poets' Corner #8 – Shakespeare's Sonnets, 21st April 2013
Poets' Corner #9 – Edward Thomas, 20th May 2013
Poets' Corner #10 – Harry Smith's Anthology, 19th June 2013
Poets' Corner #11 – William Plomer, 21st July 2013
Poets' Corner #12 – Ghosts , 20th August 2013
Poets' Corner #13 – William Dunbar, 20th September 2013
Poets' Corner #14 – Bathtub Thoughts, 20th October 2013
Poets' Corner #15 – Bagpipe Music, 20th November 2013
Poets' Corner #16 – Sylvia & Emily, 20th December 2013
Poets' Corner #17 – The Fall Of Icarus, 16th January 2014
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