Motorist's Poem

MOTORING POEM

The motoring reports
and the propogandists state
that the Renault 4
is the most reliable car on the market
(apart from Jensen, Rolls-Royce, Mercedes)
Well I guess I always was unlucky
Mine must be the exception
that proves the rule
I've only had the car
for a little over eighteen months
but I've had a decoke
and a reconditioned engine
with new pistons, piston rings,
big end bearings, little ends too,
a new clutch plate, clutch cable,
throttle cable, throttle linkage,
two headlight units, various bulbs,
fuel tank, petrol pump, water pump,
four new tyres, various hoses, fan belt
and complete exhaust system.
two handbrake cables,
two brake drums, eight shoes,
a battery, drive-shaft,
windscreenwiper motor,
a shockabsorber, two
petrol caps (though they'd been stolen)
which more or less
completes the list
of items fitted to a
roomy but noisy,
badly accelerating,
slow little car
that's beginning to show
the usual signs of rust
The garage service
was as poor as the car's
and writing to Renault did no good
Well I never thought it would
And though I never was a proper patriot
I'm buying British next time mate

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Sheffield, 1st February 1972

Publication

1972 Hallamshire & Osgoldcross Poetry Express (UK)

Cause and Effect: Reflections at Keat's House

CAUSE AND EFFECT: REFLECTIONS AT KEAT'S HOUSE

That a poet lived here
wrote here
was nursed in sickness here
is not to be denied

The house is
visited by
fanatics
admirers
and other interested parties
whose interest
may be aroused
by the saved
relics
of the past
that have outlived the writer
and tend
to take
to the casual lookerin
a greater import
than the poetry
without which
the decay of time
would have destroyed
leaving only the
poetry

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: London, 1st September 1971

Publications

1972 Hallamshire & Osgoldcross Poetry Express (UK)
1980 THE RAINBOW AND OTHER POEMS (Heckmondwyke, Fighting Cock Press)
1990 EDITOR'S DILEMMA (Ashton under Lyne, New Hope International)
2000 Breathe (UK)