Job interview

“Great Daniel, we could do Monday morning at around 1030 at gelateria Mauritius if that works for you. Of course also your family is invited if they want to come.”

Fine, Monday, ten thirty,
in the ‘big park’,
where the geese, the chickens,
the ducks, the turtles,
and the really big fish, lurk!

My wife will be working,
and the kids are,
ormai, adults,
so stay in bed
on Monday mornings.

But I’ll see you there,
or if Laura, aged three, sleeps late,
please email/phone
to let me know.

© Daniel Stephens, 2021

‘No Permit’s Required’ is a 113 page .pdf format ebook containing “some verses for those who like to laugh or ponder”. Download the FREE sample chapter (.pdf) or BUY the full version from our online shop.

Mr Palmer

The highlight of my long
but sporadic career as a poet
(a single day when aged eleven
two weeks now at fifty-two)
was when our teacher
Mr Palmer one day announced
that our class would spend the morning
writing poems, and couldn’t go out
in the playground until we’d each
completed at least one

illustration by Anya Lauri

It doesn’t have to rhyme
he reassured us
just write down what you feel
A strange instruction at the time
which lead to lots of head-scratching

After some minutes before
a blank sheet of A4
some silly idea
probably copied from
something I’d seen on TV
came spurting from my pencil lead:
half a dozen verses in dramatic style
I wish I had them still

Later, I was called to the stage
to read aloud at assembly
The headmaster introduced me:
Daniel Stephens
has written a poem

Famous for two minutes,
there followed
a long hiatus

© Daniel Stephens, 2020

‘No Permit’s Required’ is a 113 page .pdf format ebook containing “some verses for those who like to laugh or ponder”. Download the FREE sample chapter (.pdf) or BUY the full version from our online shop.