POETRY

I'LL EXPLAIN EVERYTHING TO THE GEESE

I'll tell the lady on the bus I'm fine 

And go instead down to the lake 

With a packet of peanuts and a handful of seed, And I'll cry my heart out 

As I explain everything to the geese. And they will blink their beady eyes In an ancient understanding of the pain Brought only by the loss of a partner (You told me here they mate for life, Held me under your wing and honked Before kissing my slender white neck) But only some goose-widows are proud enough To abstain from the company of others forever,

And I'll sing my heart out with my next love, "It's all been forgiven, Swans are a-swimming,

I'll explain everything to the geese." Soaked by the rain but filled with joy As he tells me I got

the lyrics wrong all along, But he prefers my version anyway.