This poem was placed third in the 2014 Lillian Rose Troy Poetry competition.
I knew my times-tables , recited the Lord’s Prayer,
If my shoes became shoddy, it’s because I walked everywhere.
We sat around the table to eat our meal.
You ate what was on the plate that was the deal.
We had three T.V. channels and the test-card sometimes,
So, we’d play outside mostly, skipping along to rhymes.
Then there were board games for wet rainy days.
Imagination was used when we dressed up for plays
Old net curtains became a bride’s outfit.
Hide and Seek, bodies under the table, squashed, tight knit.
Twister, put your right leg on green and left arm on blue.
Monopoly, Snakes and Ladders, Give us a Clue.
Our clothes weren’t colour co-ordinated but patched and sewn.
Ankles exposed from trousers, where overnight we’d grown.
No Central heating but a coal fires warm glow.
Wellies and mittens ready for games in the snow.
Through the black horses head we slotted our coppers.
Saving up our pocket money for trips on our Choppers.
We’d ride around town and down to the park.
Coming in for Tea-time or when it got dark.
Delivering Newspapers, leaflets, catching fingers, torn nails.
Playing Chart singles, spraying hair red, going off the rails?
Rows with Mum, boyfriends and fun.
Enjoying that first holiday abroad in the sun.
Now a College student finding my own way.
Starting my first job, breaking away.
Buying a home, getting married, settling down.
Grandad , proudly walking me down the aisle in a white wedding gown.
The sound of my own child’s cry.
Such happiness, fulfilment, now to be a good mother I must try.
Years of school runs, Sports days, Christmas plays.
Holiday camps in Cornwall, visiting family, yellow ochre sandy bays.
Now, déjà vu time as I get cheeked back.
Trying to get the balance right to keep them on the right track.
Where did all the years go? They are all grown up now.
Letting go, I’ll stand aside, smile, then proudly take a bow.
I knew my times-tables , recited the Lord’s Prayer,
If my shoes became shoddy, it’s because I walked everywhere.
We sat around the table to eat our meal.
You ate what was on the plate that was the deal.
We had three T.V. channels and the test-card sometimes,
So, we’d play outside mostly, skipping along to rhymes.
Then there were board games for wet rainy days.
Imagination was used when we dressed up for plays
Old net curtains became a bride’s outfit.
Hide and Seek, bodies under the table, squashed, tight knit.
Twister, put your right leg on green and left arm on blue.
Monopoly, Snakes and Ladders, Give us a Clue.
Our clothes weren’t colour co-ordinated but patched and sewn.
Ankles exposed from trousers, where overnight we’d grown.
No Central heating but a coal fires warm glow.
Wellies and mittens ready for games in the snow.
Through the black horses head we slotted our coppers.
Saving up our pocket money for trips on our Choppers.
We’d ride around town and down to the park.
Coming in for Tea-time or when it got dark.
Delivering Newspapers, leaflets, catching fingers, torn nails.
Playing Chart singles, spraying hair red, going off the rails?
Rows with Mum, boyfriends and fun.
Enjoying that first holiday abroad in the sun.
Now a College student finding my own way.
Starting my first job, breaking away.
Buying a home, getting married, settling down.
Grandad , proudly walking me down the aisle in a white wedding gown.
The sound of my own child’s cry.
Such happiness, fulfilment, now to be a good mother I must try.
Years of school runs, Sports days, Christmas plays.
Holiday camps in Cornwall, visiting family, yellow ochre sandy bays.
Now, déjà vu time as I get cheeked back.
Trying to get the balance right to keep them on the right track.
Where did all the years go? They are all grown up now.
Letting go, I’ll stand aside, smile, then proudly take a bow.