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The Hope

wandsworth common
Wandsworth Common

On Wandsworth Common God and I
talked till in the evening shade
He shone like an Anglepoise.
Then I prayed:

help me to make it to the top
and a pad north of the river;
sync my mind to contemplate
success, and not shiver;

shape me a soul as rounded as
the Circle Line, when in the week
I go down into darkness at
South Kensington or Baker Street;

grant me a wife and let’s say two
offspring, one a son;
smooth Time into a tranquil lake
for me to walk upon;

bless us as we safely ski
each Christmas in the Alps,
and may our summer holidays
to bliss be catapults;

and when, years later, I take stock,
in Chelsea or in Camden
permit me one small moment of
limited abandon –

to head back here and meet you for
a session in The Hope,
all drinks on me, that my life’s been
such a rich kaleidoscope.


Tom Vaughan

If you have any thoughts on this poem, Tom Vaughan  would be pleased to hear them.

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