THE PARTY 1956

A BOY AND GIRL AND A DOLL'S TEA PARTY IN LONDON IN 1956

I arrived
at Janice's grandmother's flat
for the doll's tea party
as I said I would

and Janice took me
into her bedroom
as her gran was in
the sitting room

with two of her elderly friends
talking over cups of tea
Janice showed me
into her room

where there was
a single bed
and a small table
arranged beside it

with two small chairs
in which sat Teddy
a yellowish bear
Golly a red smiling lipped

black doll
and Miss Woolworth
a blonde doll
with curly blonde hair

and blue staring eyes
and a pouty mouth
and a rag doll
with one eye

the other one
empty space
after she had introduced me
to the tea party guests

she showed me
the small stainless tea pot
and six small teacups
and a stainless milk jug

and bowl with a few sugar lumps
do you take sugar?
she asked
I said two and she put

two sugar lumps in a tea cup
and one in hers
and poured the tea
into my cup

and added milk from the jug
she made her own tea
and sat on the bed beside me
then she poured

pretend tea in the cups
of the guests
on the small table
was a plate of small ice cakes

Gran made them for us
Gran's friends have the rest
Janice said
and on  another

small plate were four
fingers of KitKat
I sipped the tea  
it was weak but warm

in the other room
voices laughed
what's the doll
with one eye called?

I asked
Cyclops
she replied
funny name for a girl doll

I said
don't you remember
Mr Finn saying about
a one-eyed person

the other week?
Janice said
he said it was
a one-eyed savage giant

I replied
o did he?
she said
frowning her forehead

o I see
she said
never mind
I said

it's as good a name
as any
she wasn't convinced
and frowned harder

maybe I ought to call her Grace
Janice said
Grace?
I said

yes I had an aunt
who had one eye called Grace
Janice informed
what was the other eye called?

I said
she laughed out loudly
and then put a hand
over her mouth

and whispered
best not make
too much noise
or Gran will wonder

what we're doing
I sipped more tea
and took one of the iced cakes
we ate the cakes in silence

I gazed at the Golly
smiling at me
then Teddy who sat
with a small

silly smile sewn on
after cakes Janice gave me
a KitKat finger
and we sat

and ate those too
Miss Woolworth hasn't been well
Janice said
o what's wrong with her?

I asked
her left leg
has come loose
and dangles

when you lift her up
Janice said
o dear
I said

giving Janice a stare
she seemed serious
so I didn't smile
there was more laughter

from the women
in the other room
Janice looked at me
and said

glad you could come
and so is Teddy
he likes company
I said

I enjoyed it
and after sipping
the last of the tea
she showed me

her new red beret
and placed it
on her blonde hair
and smiled

then kissed
my cheek
best go
I said

glad other boys
never saw the kiss
or they'd think
I'd gone weak.

Reviews

[Adam Whitworth]

I can't see any reason for the insistance on FOUR LINES per segment. I'm worried that it is a pre-determined decision with no good reason and it actually lessens the impact of many of the wonderful words. Sorry to go on about what might seem a small detail but this good poem suffers from the straightjacket it is in. Perhaps I could have said this in a more positive tone, I just mean its a good poem I would love to see improved.

[Terry Collett]

Thank you, Adam