i.m. Alex Montwill
In Georgian Fitzwilliam Square
His job is toting buckets of coal
Up flights of stairs, four in all
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And he has been made quite aware
Of the painting over the mantelpiece
In the doctor’s waiting room, he must
be careful not to raise up dust.
O we can guess what this boy sees:
The soldiers! Boyish sense of play
noting the armour, wants to don
Coal-scuttle helmet, poker sword
But not the boy under the hay
who waits for the soldiers to move on;
His father’s whispered “Not a word!
Iggy McGovern's collections include The King of Suburbia, which won the Glen Dimplex New Writers Award, and Safe House (both Dedalus Press )
