Last Laugh
Father-in-lawLaid down the law
When it came to
Immigration and
Race relations;
People from other
Nations were all
The same, so one
Name - WOGS;
Said it rhymed
With DOGS, then
He would laugh
Like a funfair clown,
And we'd all look down
At the ground, his
Precious Little England
Where there was no
Horizon, no sunlight,
Just a hole spewing night,
And he'd say what was the
Matter, couldn't we stand his
Patriotic chatter?
In silence we'd look at the TV,
Or out of the window, just
Laying low, laying low until
He made his milky-white cocoa,
And went up to bed with
Another victory in his head;
Father-in-law
Had a square jaw
Which he claimed was proof
He was born under an Aryan roof,
But we never knew the truth...
... until he died;
We cried, or pretended to cry,
Tears of joy, you'll appreciate why,
And before he was laid into the earth
We gave his certificate of birth
To the Registrar, an educated Anglo-Indian
Woman with initials after her name,
And when she saw his certificate she
Said something was not quite right,
And so it was, not quite right,
No, not right at all, really quite a shock,
For Father-in-law was born out of wedlock.
Chris Fernie,2006
Poetry by Chris Fernie
Read 504 times
Written on 2006-11-22 at 21:21
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