Changing Trains

Changing trains at Stevenage
I had the urge to send,
by way of an apology,
this message to a friend:

‘You came back from the shops too soon
and caught me unawares,
I should have been a-hoovering,
not sitting on the stairs.

I should have been a shepherd boy
upon the hill at eve,
bringing in the wayward flock,
not reading poetry.’

But a magpie stole my glasses,
stole them just for fun,
he had no need for glasses,
he had already some.

Yes, a magpie stole my glasses
as I stood by that rail,
I couldn’t send that message then
so took the homeward trail.