Saturday 11 July 2015

Atlas ~ U.A. Fanthorpe

There is a kind of love called maintenance,
Which stores the WD40 and knows when to use it;

Which checks the insurance, and doesn’t forget
The milkman; which remembers to plant bulbs;

Which answers letters; which knows the way
The money goes, which deals with dentists

And Road Fund Tax and meeting trains,
And postcards to the lonely; which upholds

The permanently rickety elaborate
Structures of living; which is Atlas.

And maintenance is the sensible side of love,
Which knows what time and weather are doing
To my brickwork; insulates my faulty wiring;
Laughs at my dryrotten jokes; remembers
My need for gloss and grouting; which keeps
My suspect edifice upright in the air,

As Atlas did the sky.

~ U.A. Fanthorpe ~

2 comments:

  1. The practical side of love! I had to look up what SD 40 meant! Re-grouting is good, especially before adding the gloss!

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    1. Aha, WD40 is something that I think every British person would know about! It makes the world run more smoothly...

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