Mostly conversational verse. No point in looking for ideas. The emphasis is on clarity of speech at the service of shaped emotion and distinct imagination. 21 If you think you have arrived, Right away ask: Where? You may indeed have survived But you may still be there. Consider the implications, How much depends upon the act, Perhaps on ego-inflations, In other words: Mere artefact. Or wrack you brains if you must, If you cannot do it with ease, If you lack the skill to adjust To the shelling of a bowl of peas, To running to the shop and then To collapse, breathless, on a bench, Mindful of the time when You were a lusty wench And not yet married and sore As hell from all the conflict And who knows what else is in store Unless the fates conspire to restrict The influx of duty and care For husband, society and child And you would be willing, anywhere To reconsider, to rewild. If you think you've arrived, rethink Yourself, starting from scratch, When you took your first drink And down came the hatch. *