A School Friend

She had a wide, square face
And two thin plaits.
My single plait was thick and fair and long.
On our first day
My woollen petticoat was mocked.
They scoffed at her pink ribbons.
For me the wooden horse
Was insurmountable.
She vaulted it with courage.
Hockey was not my forte.
She played a useful full–back.
She favoured Galsworthy.
My god was Shelley.

Different as daffodil from daisy
We grew from Lower Third
To Upper Fifth, like unidentical
But devoted twins.

One winter holiday
When all the school went skating
I had no skates.
She lent me one of hers.
All afternoon we were content to scoot
On one foot each
Until the sun, pink–cheeked
Slid down behind blue trees.

Once in the Lab
I could have burned to death.
I'd set my plait alight
Over a Bunsen Jet.
Her hands so promptly quenched it
Only an inch was singed.

Yet, when we left
For colleges in distant towns
We didn't write for long.
I heard she'd married.
She could be widowed now.
She could be dead.