Stanley Cook
Couple in a Semi
The doctor, who didn’t live in the village anyway
And never was sent for unless he was really needed
(Though in pre-N.H.S. days he would have liked to be),
Was special and boys who once drove nails in his tyres
Were quickly handed over. The pluralist vicar
Who took a service and a half on Sundays
Gave no offence for everyone knew that he drank.
But those who bought the new detacheds and semis
Half a mile out of the village with a view of the river,
Who usually worked at offices in town,
Who rented a bit of a field for playing tennis
And set up for someone were skirts of middle class
Close enough for the average poor to snap at.
He was one and she was one and they married
But, slur on the village matrons, didn’t breed,
Walking to the train in their dry-cleaning
In neat little hats that snuffed their heads.
People were glad to hear their cellar flooded
When the river rose in winter; it seemed to make up
For their modern garden furniture in summer.
He played cricket, so politely
It seldom showed how good he was;
She played tennis with every ounce of her figure
Just under control. They stood on a doorstep of class,
Ignoring the curiosity of passers-by
And waiting and waiting to be asked inside.
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