What I Got
What did I get
for my seventieth?
Two sweet emails and two
phone calls from New Zealand,
my loved home country.
A book voucher worth
rather more than I am,
still burning my pocket.
Silk ties from Thailand,
from my globetrotting son;
gloves and scarves from Italy,
from my globetrotting
daughter and son-in-law;
all just back home - there's
a gift - safe and sound.
Two desired recent
books from New Zealand,
fiction and verse,
both by C.K.Stead,
who taught me in '62 -
from our mutual friend.
A big party at our place
with dozens of smiling faces.
Bottles of good red wine
in bright wrappers,
one of scotch, and one (historic)
of Pimms Number One Cup.
A vroom-vroom toy car
made of coca-cola tin.
A statuette by my friend
titled 'The Storyteller'
but his face is featureless,
Išll be tempted to add
eyes and a smile.
Graphic art by two other friends,
one satirical of bookshops
and their patrons like me,
one of Beijing dogs on Beijing paper,
with advice on how to frame it
(not cheap), and an offer
to do our pup's portrait -
it would take two days.
An hour of songs sung by
Kate and Ruth, in tune with
their guitars and banjo
(see their website for their
range and quality),
their 'Boots of Spanish Leather'
unaccompanied lovely-sad.
A Lebanese banquet from
Dunyazad in nearby Greythorn,
much relished by every guest
(scarcely sampled by me
so busy talking).
A round of offerings
musical and poetical:
starting with a song about me
adapted from Mac the Knifeš;
a wicked Tom Lehrer song
sensational for those
too young first time round;
a prolonged skirl on the Scottish pipes
which most wished longer;
a Chopin mazurka with soul
on our little-used piano.
Three earnest poems from
three earnest poets, including me.
John Anderson my Još sung
by Scotlandšs exported Burns expert;
Theodorakis on CD, playing
while our Greek friends
brewed up a happy cyclone
drawing us in to Zorba
the dancing Greek.
To mention only a few.
Max Richards
Doncaster, Victoria
Wednesday 20 June 2007
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