• Letters to Stanford

GreacenStanford301

Plucking Geese

Although a Frenchman once told me:

"En Angleterre tout est possible",
I still haven't seen an August snowflake
Yet I soldier on in the hope that

One summer day the lid will lift off the sky
As they start plucking geese in heaven-.
Big soft quills will eddy into explosions,
Shampooing cats, making children leap like salmon
And the British Isles slither from Kerry to KirkwaL 1.

Overnight this snow will turn to ice-cream,
The Prime Minister will recall Parliament,
The Emperor of ice-cream will replace the gueen,

Squatters will dine at the Savoy", sheep bleat the "Messiah",
Football hooligans will tiptoe in the National Gallery.

All changed, changed utterly, and a terrible whiteness born.
But most important,my Frenchman will be proved right.

Robert Greacen

Written in Waldshut,August '77

GreacenStanford301
Coverage: 
1977 Sep 2nd
Keywords: 
Plucking Geese
Citation: 
LHL, "GreacenStanford301", Northern Ireland Literary Archive, accessed Fri, 03/29/2024 - 05:00, https://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/greacenstanford301?page=1