Before you......

 

I was born eleven years before you

into a world which was very different

of which you can concceive so little of

With your parents you travelled

from one continent to another

educated in different cultures and languages

You developed a sophistication

a world view very different to my own

I lived in a dull grey post war Britain

in a street where all the houses were alike

I experienced drudgery a blind dullness

amongst the unimaginative and weary

A mediocre education which afforded little gain

You were given a vision and opportunities

to grow develop and realise your ambitions

I was repressed, a no hoper

I loathed my childhood and its surroundings

The signs of war were everywhere

When you arrived these had disappeared

giving way to a modern brighter vista

Eleven years, two people, yet poles apart

I always envied you