Finally, the sun came out today – it was nice to see it again,
popped into town to catch up on what I’d put off in yesterday’s rain.
After doing what I needed to do
I thought I’d check out a charity shop or two
hoping, perhaps, to find an interesting poetry book,
well, it’s always worth having a quick look.
Nothing at the Salvation Army, or the Cancer Research shop,
or St. Barnabas. Three Counties Dog Rescue was my next stop,
but no luck there either, so on to the British Red Cross,
I was rolling along like a stone – but gathering no moss.
In Age Concern, I found a book by John Betjeman, but prose;
I’m strictly poetry; short stories? Don’t do those.
Scanning a few more titles, one suddenly caught my eye:
‘Fornication Through the Ages’. “Mmm”, I thought, “I might give that a try,
and I’m old enough to purchase it without embarrassing myself”,
so I reached up and eased it down from the top shelf.
Looking furtively round, I started my inspection
to see if it was the kind of book I’d want in my collection.
Surreptitiously I began a quick flick through
hoping for interesting information – and the odd illustration too!
It was disappointing to find only castles, moats and defensive positions;
I checked the title again: ‘Fortification Through the Ages’. Oh. Next stop, the optician's.