Rupert Mallin on the Other Side of the
Crit Offered, Crit Rejected
Dear Heather
Sorry.
I had done half a job on half a poem (the half I liked)
And now I understand why the bacon was taken to Laken-
Heath and am flattered by the underlying reference to
The smacked hams of Mildenhall in nanny's memory bank
In my long poem, 'Salutations Undualtions.' I also
Forgot what we muckers ate back then. Goodness!
However, I don't think your criticisms of 'Salutations
Undulations' are valid: I was a Fen child, I am a Fen
Man, with Fen religion and we Fen folk think like that.
It's the flat black soil, tight-knit couplings, Black Shuck,
An endless horizon and a lifetime of boredom.
That's why I cling to hillocks.
Even the barred view from my window isn't so boring --
And from this window, across the fields and hedgerows,
I shout with all my heart -- 'salutations undulations!'
And I can still smell nanny's right huge hams downwind.
© Copyright Rupert Mallin 2003